Beneath Inkopolis
by Snowy The Sky Wolf
Summary: Beneath the city of Inkopolis lies the world of the Octarians… A world filled with eternal darkness - Or at least, a lack of power. A young Inkling boy ends up falling into this light swallowed land, where he finds and experiences the hardships of life underground. Rated T to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone, and welcome to a new fanfic of mine. This is my first Splatoon fanfiction, and I'm really proud of this result. I hope you enjoy.**

 **I, Snowy The Sky Wolf, do not own Splatoon, or any of its characters.**

* * *

"I'm home."

The front door opened, revealing a young Octoling girl with violet eyes. She carried a simple school bag over her shoulder.

"Welcome home, sweetie," The Octoling girl's mother smiles from the living room.

The Octoling's home was quite dreary compared to anything else. Many of the household appliances were either old or dusty. The room was barely lit up by only a few small candles.

The Octoling did not smile.

"Come and sit with us, honey," The father invited her over, waving a hand.

The young girl quickly dropped off her bag in her room before joining her parents in front of a small retro television, showing the daily nightly news, which was on commercial at the moment.

Her mother pulled her child into a loving embrace. "How was school today, sweetie?"

"It was fine," The Octoling girl says, almost in monotone. She barely reacted to her mother's hug.

An Octarian news reporter then reappeared on the screen, sitting behind a desk with a few papers in hand. Another Octarian sat next to the other, anchoring the separate news reports.

" _Welcome back to Nightly Octarian News,"_ One of them spoke, before the other took over.

" _We have just received breaking news! The Inkling civilization has stolen yet another vital Zapfish! Just how longer will our civilization stand with our source of power being depleted at this rate?!"_

The father switched off the television, cutting off the reporter. He stood up, walking to the kitchen to finish preparing the night's dinner.

"Electricity is getting expensive these days…"

The Octoling girl, still in her mother's embrace, silently scowled to herself.

 _I hate them…_

…

"Hey, Inkling pest!"

The same Octoling walked through the hallway of her school the next day, with books in her arms. She ignored the threats and teases that were thrown specifically at her.

"Inkling pest! Don't ignore me, stupid! Were you the one who stole the Zapfish?"

 _Shut up…_

"She won't listen. This pest must've really stolen the Zapfish after all!"

A medium sized group of Octolings laughed out loud, their laughs getting louder as the poor Octoling girl walked by them.

"Get to class, everyone!" A teacher shouted, causing all the girls to scatter, but not before some final taunts.

"Loser!"

"Pest!"

The young Octoling girl sighs.

…

The front door opens once again, finding that her parents were not in the living room this time around.

She walks into her room, closing the door behind her. Her room was just as dark as the rest of the house. The only thing that stood out from the room was a bright green-handled weapon. The Splat Charger.

Her parents had gotten her a Splat Charger for her birthday, so that she could participate in the Octoling turf wars. However, due to popularity standards, she was never able to join a battle.

So the charger was left unused, but she still loved it.

As the Octoling was lighting a single candle and preparing to do her homework for the day at her desk, her eyes caught onto the weapon sitting beside the table.

 _I wonder what it would be like to battle in a turf war…_

She daydreams. She imagines herself using the charger, blasting her enemies into dust using it's long range charge shots, winning the turf war, and getting recognition for the most turf covered.

But she knows that'll never happen.

The young girl shook the thoughts out of her head. There was homework to be done.

So she got started.

…

It was now a weekend. School was out for the week.

But that didn't mean the torture stops as well.

As the Octoling girl was walking by the dome that held the infamous turf wars, some of her bullies spotted her.

"Hey, it's Inkling pest! Here to try a turf war, are you?"

The young Octoling stopped in her tracks and looked towards the other girls with a blank expression.

"Come on, want to try one?"

The Octoling girl hesitated. Were they really inviting her to battle with them?

Too bad she left her special charger at home…

She slowly walked up to them, but not before someone with a roller flung a large glob of ink at her, covering her whole body with cold ink.

The whole group, minus the pranked Octoling, laughed.

"She looks good in that getup, don't you think?"

"Yeah!"

They all laugh again, the pranked Octoling girl running off in despair.

Her eyes were not filled with tears.

They were filled with anger.

She had reached her breaking point.

…

It was now midnight that very same day.

The Octoling girl was awake, staring at the Splat Charger in the middle of the darkness.

Moonlight poured in from the window, illuminating the weapon even more.

 _I hate those bullies. I hate my horrible life. Most of all, I hate the Inklings for stealing my future…_

In her fit of hate, she carefully wrote a note to her parents.

 _Dear mother and father,_

 _Living in this kind of world is horrible. Dark and lonely. I can't take it anymore. I'm going to find a better place than this trash dump. Someday I'll come back and bring you there. Thank you for everything. I love you._

 _Hugs and kisses, Supotca_

The Octoling girl quickly put her prized personal possessions in her school bag, grabbed her special charger, and left the note on the kitchen counter as she ran out the door in tears.

 _I'm sorry…_

The young girl, now known as Supotca, ran down the street in the midst of night. Away from the bullies, away from the dark world she had always known, away from her horrible life.

She boarded a train that travelled away to a different part of the Octarian world. The only thing Supotca was going to miss was her loving parents. Tears streamed down her face as she watched the train get farther and farther away from home.

 _My name is Supotca. I am of sixteen years of age._

 _I am running away from the life I've held for many years. Alone._

 _Now, my only enemies are nature, and the Inklings._

 _Especially the Inklings._

She was the only one on the train, due to the fact that it was past midnight. Supotca yawned.

 _Maybe I should get some sleep…_

The lights above her flickered. She didn't think anything of it, because of the lack of power that she has seen for most of her life.

Supotca heard the train rattle slightly. A large crash from the front of the train rang out, causing her to jump slightly.

She didn't have time to think as she came face to face with scrap metal.

Her shrill scream echoed throughout the valley.


	2. Chapter 2

**These first two chapters may seem slow at first, but the story will pick up in speed very soon. Other than that, I hope you enjoy. :)**

 **I, Snowy The Sky Wolf, do not own Splatoon, or any of its characters.**

* * *

A young Inkling boy held his trusty Tentatek Splattershot in his hands as the final whistle was blown.

It was the end of yet another turf war.

He was standing in a sea of dark blue, his team's color. His presence was automatically teleported back to the spawn point to hear the results.

Judd the cat, the official referee for all turf wars, observed the battlefield from above with his keen cat eyes.

He did a little dance, then pointed towards the blue Inkling boy's team with a flag and his tail.

"Meow!"

Everyone on the blue Inkling's team cheered. It had been a close game, but it all came out in their favor in the end.

The results of the battle were then shown in the lobby, showing the winners' names on the top and the losers' names on the bottom.

At the top of the listing was the person who inked the most turf on their team.

The name was Aoiko.

"Yo, Aoiko!"

The Inkling boy looked around, searching for the source of the voice. He spotted his friend, running up to him.

"Dude! You were a smash hit out there!"

"Thanks," Aoiko chuckled sheepishly.

"I've heard that they're giving the winners special armor that you can't find anywhere else. You gotta get it before you go!"

"Make sure you don't fall asleep while heading home."

"Ha! Right! See you tomorrow at school, Aoiko. Nice battle."

Aoiko is a normal seventeen year old student at Inkopolis High School. He is considered to be very skilled in the art of turf war, rarely ever losing in his matches. He also is quite popular with the girls in his class, though he was never interested in dating any one of them.

The young boy walked up to the receptionist desk, where an older Inkling female greeted him.

"Ah, Aoiko, isn't it?"

"Yes."

"Your name is very popular around here. Seems that you've been inking up a storm!"

"I guess," Aoiko laughs.

"To commemorate your win today, I would like to present you with a special armor set," The receptionist revealed three clear plastic bags. One had a set of headphones with a blue and black color scheme, another was a yellow and black jacket that resembled a crossing guard's vest, and finally, a pair of black and yellow runners with a blue glow.

"Thanks!" The Inkling boy accepted his prizes, immediately putting on the jacket over his t-shirt. "This fits nicely!"

"It sure does! Enjoy! Oh, and careful not to catch a cold, it's pretty chilly out there tonight."

"Thanks again!"

Aoiko ran out the main lobby door with his prizes in his small bag and his Splattershot in hand. He was greeted by a dark sky with very few stars due to the lights of the city.

 _I guess I should get home before it gets too late…_

The young boy strolled down the main street, making sure to stay in the streetlights. His parents always told him that the city at night is a dangerous place with mysteries, even though Inkopolis was a relatively safe city.

His dark blue eyes scanned over the street ahead of him. Things looked way different at night than during the day.

"I can't tell which way is which in all this darkness… The street lights are not even bright enough…"

A beat.

"Might as well go through each street one at the time. It won't hurt to try."

Aoiko turned right and began walking down another street, staying cautious to whatever was in front or behind him.

"This might be the wrong street-"

What Aoiko wasn't paying attention to was his feet.

"Wha-"

More specifically, the open manhole that was missing it's lid.

"Whoa!" Aoiko shouts as he fell into the manhole, landing on the other side with a thud.

"... Ow…"

The Inkling boy looked around above his landing point. It was even darker over here than back in the street. The ceiling was all made of rock while the walls were covered in some kind of light panel that was shut off.

 _Was that a one way manhole? Sure looks like it, I can't find any place where you can get back up…_

Aoiko heard a groan in the distance. He turned his head.

"What is this…?"

Where he had landed was only a few feet away from the location of a terrible train crash. The metal of the train was all scrunched up against a ledge, a few sharp pieces sticking out here and there.

The train tracks, which Aoiko had not noticed before, was floating in mid air by some sort of magic or invisible platform. Several parts to the track that were missing from the set.

He continued observing, trying to solve the mystery. His eyes directed him down, revealing a seemingly bottomless pit of darkness.

"The train must have derailed… And some pieces of the track must've fallen all the way down there..."

His vision shifted to the other side of the crash, where he came face to face with a body of an unconscious young girl.

Not just any girl, though. An Octoling girl.

Aoiko knelt down and tried to find a pulse in her neck. He found one, except it was very faint.

 _She's alive…_

His hands quickly opened his bag and took out a small first aid kit, and began patching up small open wounds that he could see.

After he was finished, he took off his new jacket and put it around her as a blanket.

 _I guess I'll watch her for the night. At this rate... there's no way I'm returning home anyways._


	3. Chapter 3

**Enough exposition stuff, it's time to get to the story. xD I hope you enjoy. If you like the story so far, don't be afraid to leave a review!**

 **I, Snowy The Sky Wolf, do not own Splatoon, or any of its characters.**

* * *

Several hours has passed since Aoiko found the unconscious Octoling girl.

Supotca's eyes slowly opened to be greeted by the usual darkness of no power.

"I… I'm alive?"

"Hey there," Aoiko greets the injured Octoling. "How are you feeling?"

 _An Inkling?!_ Supotca jolted out of her resting position and bounced away from him, finding her charger in the process. She aimed the sniper laser at Aoiko. "Who are you?!"

"Whoa, whoa! Calm down, please!" Aoiko holds up his hands and backs away from the Octoling.

"Tell me why you are here and who you are, or I'll shoot!" Supotca continued holding the charger at the poor Inkling, demanding that her questions be answered.

"Alright, alright! My name's Aoiko. I accidentally found my way here after falling into an open manhole. I saw you unconscious after this train wreck and I patched you up. I don't bite, promise."

Supotca took a quick look at herself, still not lowering her guard. She noticed the several wrapped bandages around her arms, as well as the jacket that presumingly belonged to the Inkling.

"It's quite a miracle that you survived this, actually. No serious damage."

The cautious Octoling slowly lowered her weapon. She slips off the hero suit jacket and throws it back to Aoiko, not wanting to wear a piece of Inkling armor.

"What is your name?" Aoiko asks.

Supotca turns around, finding her bag just close by as well as some of its contents scattered. "You don't need to know my name, Inkling."

"Well, I thought it would be fair since you threatened me for mine, but alright."

The Octoling girl did not reply as she picked up her personal possessions, her back still to Aoiko.

 _I think I know why she's acting like this…_ Aoiko predicts. "It's because I'm an Inkling, huh?"

Supotca flinches, but stays silent.

"You and the other Octarians must think we're a cold hearted species seeking to kill. That really isn't true."

"That's none of my business," Supotca grumbles. "All I know is that I don't like you."

She starts to walk away from the Inkling with her bag and charger, not wanting to socialize with her sworn enemy any further.

"Wait-" Aoiko tries to say, but is interrupted by the sound of cracking.

Both species immediately noticed that the floor ahead of them was collapsing, quickly cracking and crumbling due to the weight of the destroyed train that also happened to be resting on the platform.

Supotca then felt hands on her back, pushing her towards the higher ledges. "Don't touch me!"

"Come on! If you're still going to hate me, at least hate me on _higher ground_! Now _go_!" Aoiko shouts.

The large crack in the ground in front of the two began to split. The piece of land that they were standing on started to slant as it crumbled to the depths below.

Aoiko swiftly jumps over the rift and holds out his hand to Supotca.

"Grab on!"

Supotca hesitates.

"What are you waiting for?!"

She quickly takes his hand, who then pulls her up right when the platform collapses into the bottomless pit, much of the train following suit.

Aoiko continued to pull her towards the higher ground until they reached a small skatepark ramp. He quickly releases her hand to splat the wall in blue ink with his splattershot, then he grabs Supotca and launches her onto the ledge.

"Hey, wait-" Supotca demands, before landing on the high ledge. "Oof…"

The platform then suddenly collapses, leaving the Octoling in silence. _Did he just…_

A second later, Aoiko jumps up onto the same ledge in squid form, reverting back to humanoid form in a kneeling position. "Phew, that was a close one."

Supotca couldn't help but stare at the Inkling.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," She mumbles.

"That's good. If we were to stay down there any longer we would've been fried calamari."

Supotca regained her focus and stood up, crossing her arms afterwards. "... Thanks."

"You're welcome," Aoiko smiles. "I'm happy to help."

 _I could've handled it myself… Right?_ Supotca stays silent as she watched the Inkling boy observe their surroundings.

"Hey, when does it become day around here?"

The Octoling blinks, surprised by such a dumb question in her eyes. "Are you dumb? We're underground. All light doesn't exist here except for artificial ones."

"Oh… Right… I forgot I'm not on the surface anymore."

Supotca shakes her head in disappointment.

"Still," Aoiko began, admiring the surroundings. "For being a dim lighted place, this place looks quite pretty."

"Pfft, pretty," Supotca grumbles. "Yeah, right."

Silence rolls in between the two.

"So… Now what?" Aoiko questions.

"Supotca."

"Huh?"

"Supotca," The Octoling announces. "That's my name. You better not forget it."

The Inkling smiles. "I won't." _Supotca, huh? That's a pretty name if I say so myself…_

A beat.

"Do you mind if I walk around with you a bit?"

"Only because I feel bad that you saved me."

"Haha, I'll take that as a yes," Aoiko laughs.

…

Meanwhile, back in Inkopolis…

Aoiko's parents were worried about their son. He had not returned home the night before.

They originally thought he had stayed the night at a friend's house, but none of his friends had any knowledge of his whereabouts.

And so, posters of Aoiko's face were posted all over the city, as he was now classified as a missing Inkling by the Inkopolis Defense Force.


	4. Chapter 4

**This chapter is somewhat shorter today, my apologies. I hope you enjoy. :) Feel free to review if you liked it!**

 **I, Snowy The Sky Wolf, do not own Splatoon, or any of its characters.**

* * *

The footsteps of the two ink-quatic species sounded over the floating platform as they walked.

Aoiko and Supotca slowly strolled along the path in the dim light, with Supotca a considerable distance away from the Inkling.

 _It'll take some time before she'll come to trust me…_ Aoiko took a quick glance towards Supotca, who was looking dead straight with her arms crossed, her Splat Charger tied in between her bag straps.

 _I seem to be in a sticky situation too… That manhole really was a one way fallway… My parents are probably worried sick by now._

Aoiko was snapped out of his thoughts by a faint growling noise breaking the silence. His eyes scanned the darkness for enemies, finding none. He glanced over to Supotca again to see if she had heard the sound as well.

The Octoling still had her arms crossed, however she didn't seem fazed by the noise.

But, her expression that was displayed on her face seemed to be more nervous than before.

The blue Inkling quickly dug through his bag while walking, retrieving a spare granola bar that he had. _Maybe this will work…_

Aoiko walked up next to Supotca, causing her to flinch.

"What do you want?" Supotca asks coldly.

He held out the wrapped granola bar. "Are you hungry?"

Supotca hesitates. "Tell me. Why are you even here with me in the first place?"

"Two is almost always better than one," Aoiko replies. "Besides, it's better than being alone, right?"

 _Not when I'm with my enemy!_ Supotca glares at him, before slowly taking the granola bar. "This better not be poisoned."

"I can prove that it's not poisoned."

The Octoling sighs, opening the package and splitting the bar into halves. She hands one half to Aoiko. "You better prove it."

The Inkling takes a large bite out of his half of the granola bar, quickly chewing it and swallowing it. A moment passes before he exclaims his approval. "See?"

Supotca just simply shook her head, still unimpressed by his actions. She took a small bite of the bar.

 _This tastes good._

…

"Do I really have to camp with you?!"

"What? It's not like I'll hurt you in your sleep or anything," Aoiko says blankly, sitting by their handbuilt fire made out of an abandoned bag of wood chips they had found earlier in the day. "Or if you want, you can sleep over there in the cold, away from the cozy fire."

"Why don't you sleep over there then?!" Supotca shouts.

"Gosh, that's mean, especially since I found the bag of wood chips in the first place."

The Octoling grit her teeth. _This guy is being impossible!_

Aoiko stares at Supotca quietly, waiting for her final answer.

Supotca reluctantly took a seat near the fire, before lying down with her back towards it. "If you do anything strange, then you're dead."

"Good choice."

…

 _Supotca breathed heavily as she ran down the darkened hallways of her school in the midst of night, apparently running from an unknown predator._

 _She hid in one of the classroom's closets, shutting the door behind her._

 _"Come out, come out, wherever you are! You can't hide from us, Inkling pest!"_

 _The Octoling's eyes dilated as she hid, becoming more petrified by the second._

 _"Hmm? What's this? Is this a trail of inkprints I see?"_

 _Supotca stared down at her feet and touched the floor, to find that it was covered in cold ink._

 _Before she could react, the predators had already broken the door to her hiding place and snatched her out of the closet, causing her to scream._

 _"You can't hide when you leave a purple trail behind…" The leader of the group laughs maniacally, walking up to the trapped Supotca. She held up a knife that gleamed in the moonlight._

 _Supotca continues to struggle in the group's arms, however the Octoling was powerless against the whole group of Octolings bullies._

 _"Where should we start first?" The leader Octoling brushes the tip of the weapon under the captive girl's chin. "Ooh, I know, we should sever every limb in your body to ensure that you experience the most pain possible…"_

 _Supotca watched helplessly as the other Octoling rose the knife into the air, right above her left arm. "Let's start!"_

Supotca's eyes snapped open as she gasps, tossing her head around to regain control of her surroundings. Her terrified violet eyes met with a certain Inkling's blue ones, who was staring at her with an attentive expression.

Aoiko blinked. "Did you have a bad dream?"

Supotca equally stares back towards the Inkling, surprised. "You were watching me in my sleep?"

"Ignoring me, eh?"

The Octoling glared at him.

"...Okay, okay. Yes, I was watching you sleep."

"Why?"

Aoiko shrugs. "I couldn't sleep, I guess."

"You _guess_?" Supotca narrows her eyes.

"I also think it would be best if someone kept watch in case of anyone who finds us."

"What does keeping watch have to do with watching me sleep?"

"Don't worry about it, Supotca. You can go back to sleep," Aoiko insists.

And so, Supotca did. However, it took a longer span of time before she fell into slumber again.

She had found Aoiko saying her name… interesting.


	5. Chapter 5

**I'm glad that many are enjoying this story so far! The conflict is just starting to build, so stay tuned... Aside from that, as for the length of the chapters, I actually already have the whole story written out from beginning to end so I can keep a linear posting schedule. However, I'll keep the chapter length in mind for my future fanfictions. I hope you enjoy. :)**

 **I, Snowy The Sky Wolf, do not own Splatoon, or any of its characters.**

* * *

The Octoling awoke again to the rustling of items being separated and organized, where she found Aoiko's hero suit jacket once again cloaked over her as a substitute blanket.

The owner of the piece of apparel was no longer next to Supotca's once sleeping form, as he was instead packing up the rest of his belongings that he had taken out the night before with his back to the Octoling.

Supotca slowly sat up, painfully stretching out her back after a night of sleeping on the hard ground. "Ugh…"

Aoiko turned his head, noticing his now awake companion. "Good morning, Supotca. How was sleep?"

"What do you you think?" Supotca asks blankly, causing him to laugh sheepishly.

"I guess not very well."

Although it was considered morning for the two, the surroundings stayed dim as the underground was supposed to be, with only the large artificial light above their heads flickering once every few hours.

Supotca sighs, getting up. She passes by him, dropping the hero jacket next to the Inkling.

"By the way…"Aoiko takes out a bag that made a lot of noise. "Are you hungry?"

"Are those potato chips?"

"Yep."

"Where in the world are you getting all this food?" Supotca asks.

Aoiko stood up, walking over to the Octoling and giving her the bag. "I always keep an emergency stash of snacks whenever I go somewhere."

Supotca took the bag, guiltily giving in. She couldn't help but notice the dark bags under Aoiko's eyes, although they were quite difficult to see due to his natural squid eye rings.

Her hands carefully open the bag, her senses immediately hit by the snack food's scent. She silently tilts the bag towards Aoiko, a gesture that usually meant an offer of sharing.

Aoiko smiles and takes a chip from the bag. "Thank you."

Supotca decided that she was only being generous this once.

…

Several days passed, with both Supotca and Aoiko continuing their cycle of waking up, adventuring, and sleeping.

They didn't know why they were traveling so much without much progress, or where they were traveling to, but each had their own thoughts.

Aoiko's was to return home.

Supotca's was to go anywhere that isn't home, although she wishes that her parents were there with her.

Another night came by normally for them, however Supotca was determined to change that.

She had noticed that Aoiko was still watching her sleep for days ever since her nightmare. She wondered if he has even slept at all since they first met.

Supotca waited for Aoiko to finish getting ready for bed, watching him intently as he set up his bag to be a makeshift pillow.

"Are you going to sleep now?"

The Octoling flinches. "Yeah, sure."

Aoiko smiles and yawns. "Good night, Supotca."

…

Approximately an hour later, Supotca lay wide awake next to the dying fire, watching the embers slowly diminish. Her eyes jumped over to Aoiko on the other side of the flame, where she found his eyes closed as he faced the only source of light available.

Fast asleep.

 _Gotcha._ Supotca slowly rose herself up into a sitting position, dragging herself towards the Inkling.

In any normal case, she would have never wanted to even get close to him.

So why now?

The Octoling sat near Aoiko's head, where it was resting on his bag. She stared at him.

 _I don't get it._ Supotca sighs quietly.

 _Why is he so nice? We're supposed to be mortal enemies, for seafood's sake..._

Aoiko stirred, causing Supotca to jump in alarm. He quickly settles down, falling back into slumber.

 _He's healed my wounds, he's shared his food with me, he's even kept watch during night, if that's what you would call 'keeping watch'._

 _Even when he's sleeping here. It might be a complete accident, but he seems to trust me knowing that I won't attack him in his sleep._

 _He hasn't attacked me, either._

The Inkling started snoring, turning his body so that he was now flat on his back. His mouth hung open slightly, causing Supotca to smirk in amusement.

 _Geez, he thinks this ground is his bed at home…_

Supotca's smile soon fell short as she remembered.

 _Home… Where does he come from again? Inkopolis? ...I can't believe I remember that dreaded name._

 _I wonder how mother and father are doing back at my own home… I hope they're safe. Not like I'd want to return home anyways._

She slowly drags her old school bag towards her, suddenly deciding to rummage through it. Supotca was careful to not make a lot of noise, however she failed when she found that she had been storing a set of lightweight Octoling armor that was made out of a special metal.

 _The armor set that mother and father gave me along with the charger…_

Supotca had received a full set of Octoling armor to wear for turf war on the same day that she got her Splat Charger. She predicted that they gave it to her so that she would fit in with the other Octolings.

 _I never fitted in with them anyways…_

The Octoling observed the goggles that came with the set, brushing back a purple-reddish colored tentacle that was blocking her view.

 _Might as well put this to good use._

…

"Wake up, sleepyhead!"

Aoiko groaned. "Just five more minutes, mom…"

"I am not your mother! Now get up!"

The Inkling quickly felt a whack on his head, causing him to wake up with a wince.

"Ow…"

"You slept forever! You would've probably slept through the whole day if I didn't wake you!"

"...Supotca?"

"What?"

Aoiko's vision focused on the Octoling girl, to find that she wasn't looking like she originally was.

"You look… different."

Supotca hesitates. She had decided to change out of her normal attire for the Octoling armor, the outfit consisting of the lightweight metal chestplate, long dark boots, and the goggles that blocked any outside view of her violet eyes.

"Y-Yeah, so?"

"No reason," Aoiko yawns. "I was just surprised, that's all."

"Hurry up and get ready," Supotca informs the Inkling. "We don't have all day."

Aoiko blinks. He had noticed the slight personality change.

* * *

 **Next time on Beneath Inkopolis... Supotca and Aoiko's journey continues as trouble begins to boil...**


	6. Chapter 6

**This is the chapter where the events start to pick up. Feel free to review if you liked it! I hope you enjoy. :)**

 **I, Snowy The Sky Wolf, do not own Splatoon, or any of its characters.**

* * *

"Hey, this place looks awfully familiar…"

"Oh, does it…" Supotca says rather flatly.

"Yeah. This place looks exactly like Urchin Underpass," Aoiko acknowledges the similarities. "I didn't know that it exists down here too."

"I didn't know that this place existed at all," Supotca sighs.

"We should get through here pretty easily."

"You better not get lost."

…

Aoiko jumps down from a high ledge, landing on his feet perfectly on the ground below. He turns to Supotca.

"Need some help getting down?"

The Octoling launches herself off the same ledge, slightly stumbling on her landing but quickly regaining posture. "I don't need it."

"Alright then," Aoiko starts walking again, towards a small ramp leading deeper into the area. "Just call me if you need anything."

Supotca watched as the Inkling turned the corner before shaking her foot. "Ugh, I shouldn't have done that…"

"Hold your fire!"

Supotca looked around, having heard something. She shakes her head, and turns the same corner the Inkling did.

"Hey, are you sure you know where we're going-"

Aoiko suddenly grabs her, pulling her to a hidden corner. He lightly covered the Octoling's mouth with his hand to quiet her.

"Shh, please be quiet," Aoiko whispers, holding her close.

Suptoca struggled to break free from Aoiko's arms, which were surprisingly strong. She was so ready to punch Aoiko's squid guts out.

"Supotca, please, hear me out. I did that for a reason."

Her struggling ceased as she began to listen to his explanation.

"I'm not sure if you heard it either, but I thought I heard some voices. Assuming that this version of the Underpass is completely deserted, that is not very common."

Supotca slowly pried Aoiko's hand off her mouth to speak.

"That doesn't explain why you had to grab me and hide like that!"

"Listen."

The two fell silent as they listened, still awfully close to each other.

"I don't hear anything."

"Wait for it…"

A beeping sound rang out, before a giant twister of purple ink crashed down, inking the area around the site completely purple.

"See?" Aoiko points to the large purple puddle. "Inkstrikes. I narrowly avoided one earlier. I would've gotten destroyed if I was hit by it."

Supotca stared blankly at the ink, speechless.

"We have to traverse more carefully through here now that has happened."

"Octarian soldiers…" The Octoling mumbles to herself. She forcefully shoved Aoiko's arms away from her body, dashing off into the distance.

"Suptoca, wait!" Aoiko nearly shouted, quickly quieting down to avoid getting caught. "It's not safe…"

He watched sadly as she ran away, unable to chase after her due to the risk of the Inkstrikes.

"Be careful..."

…

The Octoling sprinted down the path, aimlessly taking turns purely based on her instinct. She soon halted in front of a wall that was similarly placed to the one at the beginning.

She was breathing heavily, trying to regain her breath.

 _I don't think it would be a good idea to stay in the open like this…_

"Hey, girl…"

Supotca gasps, looking around. She came into eye contact with a single Octarian soldier, standing on his military vehicle.

"What'cha doing here?"

Supotca hesitates for a second.

"Oh, are you one of the new recruits sent out to patrol here? In that case, you should go report to the captain. Portal's just right over there."

"Thanks," The Octoling mumbles, playing along with the Octarian's plan.

"Duuude, be careful when you start patrolin'. Heard that there's a blood-thirsty Inkling runnin' around."

 _Blood thirsty?_ Supotca began climbing the ramps towards the portal. _Aoiko. He's not even close to blood thirsty… Right?_

Supotca shook her head. _If he was blood thirsty, he would've killed me already._

Her footsteps took her to in front of the portal, guarded by two more Octarian soldiers. A large UFO was above the portal in the sky, perhaps the main base. Behind the portal was a vault, with a symbol of a key on it.

"Halt!" One of the Octarians shouted. "What is your business here?!"

She took a deep breath, ready to make her words sound natural.

"I am here reporting for duty, sir."

The other Octarian scanned her with his eyes, silent. "It's not everyday we see a charger equipped Octoling… And one with a bag, too. Must be carrying those ink bombs and such."

Supotca silently gulped.

"...Very well," The harsh toned Octarian moved his vehicle towards the front of the portal, inputting a special code, before a large hologram of the leader appeared.

"Sir! We are reporting of a new recruit."

The soldier moved his platform away from the portal again, where Supotca could clearly see what the captain looked like.

He was rather bulbous, with extremely small legs in comparison with his body and medium sized 'wings'. He was equipped with goggles and a strange hat.

Supotca grit her teeth, raging silently. _They don't have enough power to help the citizens, but they have enough power to run an energy sapping hologram?!_

"Welcome, new recruit," The captain greeted Supotca with a gentleman-like voice. "Welcome to our neck of the woods."

A beat.

"Shall we go over the regulations? Your job is to patrol the area, punishing any that are not allies to the Octarians. Since you are the first Octoling to arrive, I'll give you a special role. Kill the wandering Inkling that serves as danger to us. Understood?"

 _Wait, what?_ Supotca stared at the hologram. _Kill the Inkling? He wants me to… Kill Aoiko?_

 _Why am I hesitating? I don't care about that stupid Inkling anyways. He's better off dead than being underground with me._

 _But… He doesn't seem to mind being here with his greatest enemy. Surely he learned about the bad relations between Inklings and Octarians in school like I did?_

Supotca remembers the time when he offered her food, as well as the time when they first met, with herself nearly killing the Inkling beforehand.

 _Maybe he's not so bad after all…_

Before Supotca could think anymore, she was hit across the face with an octopus tentacle, causing her to flinch.

"Hey, brat! Reply to our captain immediately as soon as he's finished a question!" The harsh voiced Octarian scolded.

If it wasn't for the Octoling's goggles, they would've seen Supotca's death stare towards them, with the formation of tears in the corner of her eyes.

 _How did my personality get so soft?!_

The captain glared at her, then shouted his orders.

"Kill him!"

A beat.

"Yes, sir!"

* * *

 **Next time on Beneath Inkopolis... Will Supotca turn to the Octarian army and kill Aoiko?! Stay tuned!**


	7. Chapter 7

**I, Snowy The Sky Wolf, do not own Splatoon, or any of its characters.**

* * *

Aoiko stares out into the darkened fortress, eyeing the several large puddles of purple now on the ground. He sighs.

 _How long has it been since I've disappeared from Inkopolis?_

The Inkling boy remained silent, then turned around to rummage around through his bag.

 _There has to be something I could use to not get myself killed by Inkstrikes… Sure, I have my splattershot, but there's no way I can get away fast enough even in squid form…_

…

Slow footsteps echoed off the walls of the very same fortress. The armored Octoling 'soldier' dragged her feet across the ground, not wanting to meet her distant fate.

 _"Kill him!"_

It still bothered her to the extremes. Sure, they may be of her species, but that doesn't dictate if she would like them or not.

Supotca put her head in her hands, her figure falling into a sitting position. "What am I supposed to do now?!"

Her outburst echoed across the walls, and her breathing was ragged and unstable.

She stayed like that for several moments, thinking about her choices.

 _I could go back and rebel, but my charger would do no damage whatsoever…_

A beat.

 _I could also go and kill Aoiko… But that would be… wrong?_

The Octoling's eyes glanced up ahead of her, staring into the distance. Her sight quickly returned to a downcast look.

 _What's wrong with me?! I've always wanted to kill him! Why am I hesitating… now?_

"Supotca!" A hushed voice rang out in the distance in the same echo as Supotca had made earlier. She gasped.

Aoiko came half running, half sneaking around the corner, his splattershot set to fire upon one's reaction. He quickly spotted the young girl knelt down on the ground, and ran to her.

"Supotca," Aoiko whispers, bending down to her level. "Are you okay? Why did you run away like that?"

She remained silent, refusing to make eye contact with him.

"...Supotca?" The Inkling murmured, barely audible. He offered his hand to help her up.

Supotca was on the verge of tears. She grit her teeth for a second, then charged up her charger, aiming directly at his heart.

Aoiko slowly stepped back, putting his hands up. His right hand still held his weapon.

"Stay away from me," The Octoling growls, then sprinted away from her sworn enemy, tears now forming in the corner of her eyes.

A brisk underground draft fluttered by Aoiko as he lowered his arms, watching the girl run away from him.

 _Supotca…_

…

Once again, Supotca was now dashing down the corridor, away from the fiend known as Aoiko.

"I don't care if he hates me now! _I hate him!_ I've hated him since we met!"

She took a deep breath, trying to obtain more oxygen as running so fast had depleted much of her supply.

"Damn it! I don't care!"

Her fist slammed against the wall as she collapsed, sliding down the wall. The girl's sobbing was endless.

 _What do I do now… I have nowhere to go…_

Supotca blinked away her tears, coming to a realization.

"I'll go join the Octarian army. They'll accept me there."

"Did I just hear the word army, girl?" A somewhat familiar voice calls out. His vehicle rumbled as it came driving by, covering the ground in purple ink.

The Octoling looked up, her eyesight meeting with the Octarian soldier's that she had met earlier today.

"Oh, it's you again."

"Yeah, girl," The soldier smirks. "Now what's all this fuss? Ya having trouble catching the Inkling brat?"

"Sort of," Supotca lies, looking away again.

"Figures," He snorted. "Those idiots are just scared bastards, after all. Runnin' away at the sight of an enemy."

She stayed silent.

"Say, girl, come walk 'round with me for a bit. Might clear your head."

Supotca hesitates, then forces herself up out of the dark corner to follow the soldier.

"So why'd ya join this army? It be uncommon that girls join, ya know?" The soldier asks.

"Um," Supotca trails off, attempting to think of an answer. "I wanted to be a part of that Inkling destruction revolution."

"Yeah, yeah, I can understand that. The selfish brats, they would take advantage of cute girls like ya."

The Octoling girl stared down at the ink trail that the machine generated, and secretly gawked at how unnatural it looked compared to the environment.

"Duuude, look where we ended up," The Octarian chuckled.

Supotca looked around, her eyes widening with the fact that she was back where she started, the Octarian portal still standing in the same place as it has been before. They were standing at the area where the soldier and herself had first met.

"Oh…" She mumbles.

"Day's almost over," The soldier took a look at his control panel. "While we're here, we should probably go check in for the day."

"Alright…" Supotca had not understood what the soldier meant by 'check in'.

The two stepped up to the guards, who stopped them like usual.

"Halt! State your purpose!" One of them shouted.

"Just the normal check in, boys," The soldier grins.

"Do not talk so casually to your superiors!"

"Alright, alright, strict as always." He turned towards Supotca. "Let's go."

Supotca took one step forward, then a small beeping sound was emitted from the guards' vehicles. They took a quick look at the message they had received, then scrambled to direct their weapons towards the girl.

"Halt! You are under traitor status!"

"What…?" The Octoling panics.

"Come with us immediately!" The two guards surrounded her, forcing her to walk forward towards the portal leading up. A large metal claw burst out of one of guard's vehicles and grabbed the unsuspecting soldier by the waist, holding him up in the air.

"What's the problem with ya?!" The soldier shouts.

"You are under traitor status as well, traitor," The guard explains.

"Traitor?! Where did ya get that?!"

"Shut up."

The military vehicle's claw squeezed the poor Octarian, causing him to quiet down.

A few moments later, all four were transported up to the leader's quarters, where the oversized Octarian himself was waiting, sitting on a equally large and floating mechanical chair.

The guards threw the two onto the ground, causing them to wince.

"Lock the man up," The leader announced. "I would like a talk with the girl… Alone."

"Yes sir!" The two guards saluted, then picked up the unarmed Octarian and dragged him away back towards the portal, set for a different area in the headquarters.

"Sorry girl," The soldier laughs darkly. "If I had known this would come 'round, I would have tried to save your little life."

Supotca stares at the captive soldier in horror.

"Silence!" One guard punched the Octarian traitor.

"Take it easy with the punches, will ya?!"

The three were soon quickly teleported to a different area, leaving Supotca and the captain all alone.

The leader pressed a button on his armrest, causing a claw to shoot out and grab Supotca by her head tentacles, inflicting a cry from the captive. Another claw ripped her goggles off of her head, revealing Supotca's terrified eyes.

"Why did you betray me, girlie?!" The captain hisses, dragging her forcefully towards his eye level.

"I…" Supotca shakily replies.

"If you don't believe me, there's perfect evidence! I see _everything_ , girlie. Every single happening down in the Underpass."

He pressed another button, which showed scenes from security cameras in a projection on the nearby wall. It showed Aoiko walking up to downcast Supotca, then the moment when she had run away from him.

"You should've killed him. You had the perfect opportunity. Instead, you let him live!"

Tears of fear were now dripping from Supotca's eyes again. She remained silent as she had nothing to say.

"Answer me, you-" The leader threatened, even though he had not asked a question.

A small click resonated in the room.

"Hurt her… And I'll kill you," A low voice rumbled.

Supotca gasps, instantly recognizing the voice. "A-Aoiko…?"

Aoiko kicked away the claw, its grip releasing itself from Supotca's hair, making her fall to the ground with a thud.

"YOU!" The leader roars upon seeing the Inkling holding his splattershot.

Aoiko remained silent as he kicked the chair away, the piece of furniture spinning out of control towards the open portal.

"How dare you!" The captain hisses, regaining control and launching himself towards the young boy, who quickly dodged. The chair shot out several bursts of purple ink towards Aoiko.

"No, how dare _you_!" Aoiko shouts, countering the purple ink bullets with his splattershot's blue ink and then tackling the captain and his floating machinery head on, fully sending it into the portal and locking him in there.

"What?! Let me out this instant!"

The Inkling ran up to the control panel of the portal, skimming through the options of where to send the trapped captain to.

"Main headquarters, meeting room… Aha! This one is perfect," Aoiko smiles. "Maximum security locked jail cell!"

"Noooooooo!" The captain slammed his body against the portal, to no avail. He was suddenly transported away to the jail cell, to be held captive until some other Octarian let him out.

"It's dumb to have a teleportation system lead there. Really dumb," Aoiko sneers.

Supotca stared at the Inkling with shocked eyes. Did he really just risk his life for her?

...Again?

Aoiko spun around to face the Octoling, who was still frozen on the ground.

He knelt down to her eye level. "Supotca."

Supotca was genuinely afraid now; she never thought that Aoiko had the strength and ability to do what he just did moments ago, even though she had already seen his power once before.

"Supotca, I'm sorry."

A beat.

"I don't know what I did to upset you. Regardless, I deeply apologize. Will you forgive me?"

Supotca regained her courage and stood up. "You're not angry at me?"

Aoiko followed suit, making eye contact with her violet lenses. "Of course not."

The two stared at each other with equal intensity, their gazes unwavering. His eyes were calm and fierce while hers were cold with a dash of uncertainty.

"Let's just go already," The Octoling girl mumbles, brushing past the boy towards the abandoned portal.

Aoiko silently took a quick glance around the dark, rampaged room, noticing the Octoling's pair of goggles on the floor. He picked them up and slipped them into his bag before walking into the portal with Supotca.

"Oh yeah," Supotca murmurs. "I forgive you."

* * *

 **Next time on Beneath Inkopolis... After the encounter with the Octostriker, our duo is back on the trail through Octo Valley. During this time, Supotca gets asked a very peculiar question from the Inkling...**


	8. Chapter 8

**I, Snowy The Sky Wolf, do not own Splatoon, or any of its characters.**

* * *

Devoid of inkstrikes, the Octarian version of Urchin Underpass was eerily quiet, with only the footsteps of Supotca and Aoiko breaking the silence. After the previous incident, Supotca had removed the Octoling armor and returned to her normal attire, not wanting to deal with another Octarian army situation.

The two were silent as they walked on.

"Supotca?"

"What?" Supotca whispers, not looking towards the voice.

"Have you ever wished that you could be an Inkling?"

The Octoling turned around to glare at the innocent Inkling boy. "What kind of question is that?"

"Well, from all the evidence I've gathered about you, it seems obvious that you don't like being an Octoling."

"What are you, a stalker?"

Aoiko laughs. "No, but I'm highly capable of noticing attributes."

Supotca scoffs and looks away, only for the Inkling to react.

"Supotca, is there any way for me to help you go back to your normal self?"

"Now what are you talking about? This is my normal self."

"It didn't seem like it before the incident," Aoiko explains. "You were more… friendlier?"

Supotca was silenced. "There was no such thing."

"Alright then, whatever you say," Aoiko sighs, shaking his head. "Did you have any friends?"

"... No," Supotca grumbles.

"If you had friends, would you want to be more like them?"

"Never in a million years," The Octoling hisses. "They're either bullies, or people who don't care about me. I would never want to be like them."

"Then would you want to be like an Inkling?"

"Back to that question?" Supotca narrowed her eyes.

"Yeah," Aoiko glanced at his splattershot for a second. "How about we sit down for a few? I'd like to tell you a little story, if you let me."

"Fine."

Aoiko then sat down where he once stood, with Supotca doing the same.

"In Inkopolis," The Inkling began to explain. "During turf war, when we're assigned a team color for that game, we use cartridges that change our ink's color in our weapons temporarily. And the interesting fact is, we ourselves, the Inklings, I mean, change color along with the ink. Our head tentacles are affected the most."

"... Fascinating," Supotca blankly answers, quickly glancing at Aoiko's blue head tentacles.

"I believe, by changing the ink color in your weapon, you can become more like an Inkling."

"I don't really believe you in that."

"It never hurts to try," Aoiko shrugs. "Besides, aren't you tired of the same color you find everywhere?"

"I don't have any other color to change it to," Supotca says, making an excuse.

"I always keep blue ink cartridges with me after a turf war."

"You don't say."

"Yes," Aoiko retrieves a single blue ink cartridge from his bag and offered it to her. "It's your choice in the end."

Supotca stared at the cartridge in the Inkling's hand. She reached out and slowly took the small blue box and untied her splat charger from her bag straps.

"I always wondered what this empty slot in my splat charger was for."

"Now you know," Aoiko chuckles. He watched her carefully insert the box into the slot in the charger, causing the purple ink inside to fade out into dark blue.

She lifted the charger and aimed it at a wilted tree with dead leaves hanging from it. Aoiko heard the familiar wind up sequence, then Supotca shot a single leaf off the tree, leaving a trail of blue behind in its tracks.

"Wow, that's impressive, Supotca-" Aoiko trailed off as his eyes directed back to Supotca.

"What?" Supotca asks.

"I didn't know Octolings could change color too…" Aoiko stared at her head.

"What?!" Supotca repeats again, pulling an octopus tentacle down to observe.

The Octoling girl's head tentacles were now a shade of midnight blue, the exact same as Aoiko's. However, her eyes stayed the same violet color they were before.

"You look good with blue," Aoiko compliments wholeheartedly, causing Supotca's face to form a visible blush.

She dropped her now blue charger and turned away.

"S-shut up."

Aoiko simply smiled.

Supotca glared at the ground trying to calm herself down. _I completely regret doing this now._

 _But at least I won't be hurt by Aoiko's ink anymore…_

…

Later on, the two arrive at an abandoned Octarian town nearly in ruins, with no occupants to be found whatsoever.

"I wonder what happened here," Aoiko thinks out loud, observing the surroundings.

"Probably some riot for electricity," Supotca mumbles.

"Ah," Aoiko took a seat on a pile of large rocks. "Want to rest up a bit?"

"I think I'll go look around to see if there's any food or water left. Alone."

The boy nodded, understanding. "Alright. See you in a bit. Be careful out there."

"Sure, thanks…"

…

Supotca strolled around solemnly as she traversed through the field of debris, scanning the area for any usable resources.

"He's still being damn friendly as usual," She said to herself.

Her hand picked up a medium piece of a mirror that had been previously shattered from off the ground and observed herself.

"I look so strange with blue…"

She threw down the piece of glass and walked on.

 _"If you had friends, would you want to be more like them?"_

"Friends… Peh."

A beat.

"Does he consider me a friend? Do _I_ consider him a friend?" Supotca asks to no one in particular.

She came to a sudden realization, her thoughts finally making more sense.

"That's it," The girl's voice rose slightly. "IF we were friends, then I'd try to be more like him. Which is why he offered the change. It all makes sense now!"

Supotca had shouted the last part, her voice echoing off somewhere in the distance.

"That clever, clever Inkling."

She sighs. He had outsmarted her into becoming his friend without her even knowing.

…

Supotca returned to Aoiko's campsite to find him drumming his hands on his splattershot and humming a tune.

"What are you doing?" Supotca interrupted.

"Supotca, you're back," Aoiko halts his musical jamboree. "I was just playing a song to pass the time. Want to hear it?"

"No, thanks," Supotca declines.

"Alright. Did you find anything?"

"No, everything is destroyed and unusable."

"I see," Aoiko says in mutual disappointment.

Supotca sighs and sits down on the ground. "I suppose you're thinking of setting up camp here."

"Exactly what I was thinking. Are you a psychic?"

Supotca broke out into a smile and a small laugh. "No way."

Aoiko stared at her for a moment. "Actually, I think that was the first time I've seen you smile. Really, smile."

The Octoling girl looked away in embarrassment.

"Shut up."

* * *

 **Next time on Beneath Inkopolis... Aoiko and Supotca's adventure continues! In the meanwhile, they begin to find many more signs of a certain army's presence...**


	9. Chapter 9

**After this chapter and beyond, it seems that the story really picks up the pace. It actually might be too fast, but I can confirm there are plenty of storyline events in them. I hope you enjoy. :)**

 **I, Snowy The Sky Wolf, do not own Splatoon, or any of its characters.**

* * *

A long span of time passed since Supotca had realized that she considered Aoiko a friend. The two grew closer as friends over time, with the Octoling girl warming up to the Inkling. She, however, still kept her strikingly tough personality.

"This is the sixth abandoned town we've seen so far," Aoiko scratches his head.

"Perhaps they were all destroyed by the same source," Supotca says.

"That's a good hypothesis. But to think that we would find zero resources in any of the towns, that surprises me."

"True. But it's all the snacks you stuffed into that bag of yours that's keeping us active."

"I guess I'm the superhero," Aoiko jokes. "Let's keep exploring. We're bound to find something soon-"

The Inkling took a step forward, then heard a loud crunch from beneath him.

"What's this?" He picks up the crushed package, attempting to read the name. However, the package looked like it was dropped from a skyscraper, making any words illegible.

"Let me see that," Supotca says, taking the package out of his hands and ripping it open.

"Wait, you don't know what's in the bag-"

"They're chips."

"Huh?" Aoiko questions.

The Octoling peered inside of the foil bag, finding crushed pieces. She took a non-crushed piece out of the bag and took a bite out of it.

"Hold on, you don't even know if it's safe to eat-"

"Definitely chips," Supotca whispers.

"You're more hungry than I thought. Why didn't you eat breakfast this morning?"

"I wasn't hungry at that time," Supotca sternly responds.

"Let's go see if we can more food. I think you need to eat something," Aoiko starts travelling through the ruins again, scavenging for food.

"There's no need to!" She hisses, trailing behind him.

"Yes, we do. I predict that you are not eating as much because you want to save the food. Most likely for me."

The Octoling was taken back. "...Your ability to sense the smallest of things is really good…"

"Why, thank you," Aoiko says, obtaining a slight blush on his face. He then notices a figure in the distance. "There seems to be something over there…"

"I don't see it," Supotca murmurs, squinting her eyes.

His feet trailed him towards a large packaged cube, with one corner of the cube torn apart and open. Aoiko reached his hand into the package and pulled out a ration pack.

"Ration packs," Aoiko whispers. "Consider ourselves lucky."

Supotca stared at the new package in Aoiko's hand. The ration pack bore a symbol that she recognized, but she couldn't fish the source out from the back of her head.

Until she realized… That she had once seen this symbol on the Octostriker leader's chair…

Of the Octarian army.

"Drop that!" Supotca demanded, the Inkling following her orders. The ration pack hit the dusty ground beneath their feet.

"What is it, Supotca? You scared me there," Aoiko asks, surprised.

"Those belong to the Octarian army! We shouldn't even be here!"

"Oh," The Inkling was found dumbstruck for a moment.

Supotca briskly scanned the area before replying to Aoiko. "We should get out of here as fast as we can."

"I agree," Aoiko nods, reminding himself of the incident between themselves and the Octostriker that seemed like it just happened yesterday. "Although, it wouldn't hurt to restock on food supplies real quick, would it?"

"I guess not…"

"We'll just take a few. They won't even notice."

Aoiko swung his bag from off his shoulders to open it, then started to pack rations neatly into the compartment space.

Supotca crossed her arms and shuffled her feet around a bit, feeling anxious.

"It's alright, Supotca," Aoiko says, noticing her nervousness. "They're probably not even here-"

The sound of several hovercraft roared to life, completely cutting Aoiko's sentence off. Masculine voices could then be heard from a distance.

"Sir! I believe I am hearing intruders!" One voice said.

A beat.

"Go search the area!" Another voice commanded.

"Yes sir!"

"Okay, change of plan," Aoiko quickly zipped his bag and slung it over his shoulder again. "Let's get out of here."

"Ugh," Supotca sighs in annoyance. The Octarians just had to be right here with them.

"Come on!"

Aoiko and Supotca began to run away back the way they came in an attempt to escape.

"Intruders!" The soldier on a fast hovercraft shouts. "Halt!"

"Looks like they've caught on to us," The Inkling whispers. "Follow me!"

The boy took a sharp turn, both of them ducking down to avoid being seen. The two hid behind several boxes, hearing the hovercraft zoom by past them.

"You cannot escape from me!" The voice cries.

"We already did…" Aoiko responds darkly. He looks around, spotting an exit. "Over there! Quickly!"

Supotca followed Aoiko to the exit, where they found that it can only allow one person through at a time.

"You go first," Aoiko ushers the girl towards the exit, loading his splattershot. She hesitates.

"Aoiko-"

"Go, Supotca! I'll be fine, okay?"

Supotca could do nothing else but listen to him; she quickly ducked through the entrance and ran down the tunnel towards the other side.

"I'll be there soon, Supotca. Just wait for me."

At that moment, as Supotca was running down the tunnel, a sharp clang of metal could be heard from Aoiko's side.

* * *

 **I realize that this is yet another short chapter, but I couldn't find any other way to keep you guys in suspense xD Just kidding!**

 **Next time on Beneath Inkopolis... Our duo is separated once again as they attempt to escape the Octarian army... But their presence seems to be in more places than one!**


	10. Chapter 10

**I, Snowy The Sky Wolf, do not own Splatoon, or any of its characters.**

* * *

The other side of the tunnel was strikingly different compared to the previous entryway; the new area was bathed in the reddish gleam of the horizon sunset, making the terrain look fifty percent beautiful as well as fifty percent more eerie.

"It's sunset already?" Supotca says to no one in particular. Although she had not realized it, she was technically on the surface area above the Octarian lair. However, due to an extensive amount of high barbed fencing at the edges of the area, any outside access was completely blocked off.

The Octoling girl looked back through the tunnel; all she saw through the sea of darkness was a very dim speck of light. The same speck of light that she had seen when she left Aoiko behind.

Her attention directed back towards the sight in front of her. It looked a lot like a skatepark, as shown by the various curved ramps that gave it all away.

 _Aoiko wouldn't mind if I were to explore a little bit… Would he?_

Supotca blinked, then took one step forward. Before she knew it, she was quite deep into the arena, the concrete slopes almost closing in like a fortress.

"This feels like a place where Inklings would battle in turf war," Supotca mumbles as her feet flew her along. She tried to imagine what a scene of an Inkling turf war would look like.

Supotca imagined the arena cloaked in bright, dazzling sunlight, with the ground only colored in two hues, blue and orange. The color blue seemed to have the lead.

She saw the illusion of Inklings sprinting past her with various weapons in their hands; splattershots, chargers, rollers… There were too many different kinds to count them all.

Ink flew across the sky as the battle progressed, each fighting for dominance of the battlefield.

Outside the midst of chaos was one lone blue Inkling boy, cleaning up any remains of orange before traversing forward. He dashed ahead of Supotca, but suddenly skidded in his tracks as he halted in front of her and stared.

The girl gasped silently to herself. She knew his face all too well. It was Aoiko.

The boy smiled and held out his hand to her.

 _"Come on!"_

Her hand reached out to grasp his, but the illusion of Aoiko and the ink-stained battlefield disappeared before she could do so.

 _If only I was born an Inkling instead of an Octoling, then my life would be completely different…_

Supotca sighs, then observes her surroundings once more. She realized that she had been walking during that illusion, as her eyesight spotted new scenery. Just ahead of her was a tower that rose above the arena.

"I shouldn't get too far. This might be a good stopping place…"

The Octoling girl began to relax, leaning her body against the base of the tower.

"I wonder how Aoiko is doing…"

…

The Inkling's breath was heavy and sharp as he dashed away from the Octarian soldier that was chasing him, making random sharp turns in an attempt to disarray the enemy. His thoughts were mainly focused on escaping, but he had also realized that he had dropped something from his bag along the way.

"Halt!" The Octarian soldier shouts.

Aoiko glanced back at the soldier; he had a thin build, but a vehicle housed the Octarian.

 _If only I could get his vehicle away from him… Or maybe I could throw him off..._

The Inkling, trained for running after many turf war matches, continued to sprint down the path and around walls. He suddenly took a sharp turn to the left, his body rolling down to hide against the wall to catch his breath.

Luckily for him, the unsuspecting Octarian soldier zoomed right by the exhausted boy, the army car's engine slowly becoming quieter with every minute that passed.

"He's finally gone…" Aoiko sighs to himself, taking a look at his new surroundings and taking off jogging in the direction he came.

The large packages of rations could be seen again, and at this moment the Inkling lifted his head to where the sky would usually be. His eyes met with the sight of almost pitch darkness with a slight flicker of light.

Aoiko arrived at the place where he had commanded Supotca to run away. The tunnel that she had run down remained the same as it was before, and when Aoiko peered into the dark alley he swore that he could see a tiny speck of light.

Another gleam of light flashed in Aoiko's eyes, his vision darting to the ground.

Shining on the dusty ground was a pair of Octarian goggles. Supotca's Octarian goggles.

…

Supotca didn't know how long it was since she had started waiting for him. The sky had turned to a shadowy purple color, and dots representing stars could be seen.

She knew one thing, however. That she was getting very, very impatient.

"Where are you, dummy?" Supotca hisses. "You're really late."

The Octoling began pacing; it didn't seem to help her.

It was only after she heard a mysterious cheer that she stopped her footsteps.

Supotca froze, her heartbeat starting to rise until she could hear it in her ears. She did not retreat, she did not breath heavily, and most of all, she did not move a single centimeter.

A cold hand suddenly grasped her arm and pulled her backwards, causing her to scream. Her feet tripped as she was dragged along, until she was shoved into a web of more arms.

Supotca struggles to escape from the web, failing to do so.

"Quit your strugglin', Inkling pest."

The Octoling girl's eyes dilated in fear. She had heard those two words somewhere before.

A lantern's wick was soon set on fire and roughly set on the ground with a clatter. The newfound light revealed another Octoling, all suited up in the Octoling armor with the addition of green kelp floating upwards from the goggles. The web of arms that was holding Supotca back were actually two Octolings, dressed up identically to the first one.

"Well, well, well," The first Octoling laughs. "What do we have here? Say, don't I recognize ya? Oh, that's right… Inkling pest!"

Flashbacks of Supotca's past experiences with the same Octolings were dug up from her memory as she hissed her disapproval to the Octoling. "What do you want with me?!'

"Oh, why so cold? We haven't seen each other in so long, I just wanted to say hi," The Octoling taunts. "While myself and my friends moved up to a high rank in the army, you've gone and simply became trash!"

Supotca glared at the former bully, her eyes now seeing her as a true enemy.

"Want to have some fun?" The Octoling unsheathed a knife, the blade reflecting the light from the lantern. "Let's play cut the Inkling!"

"No!" Supotca screams.

"Yes!"

Supotca then felt the cold blade brush by the skin on her face, causing her to squeeze her eyes shut in terrified anticipation.

The high ranking Octoling grinned evilly.

"Let's start with your face so you can really scream!"

"NO!"

This voice was different from the rest. The newcomer aimed a large bazooka at the Octoling, shooting out a tornado of blue ink at the threatening soldier. The blast launched the unsuspecting Octoling soldier against the tower, knocking her unconscious.

"Boss!" The other two Octolings shout.

The captive Octoling kept her eyes shut, still scarred by the threat thrown at her.

The intruder aimed the large gun at the two Octolings, his hand set on the trigger. The voice that came afterward was cold, sharp, and demanding.

"Release Supotca this instant!"

 _That… voice…_ Supotca shakily breathes, her eyes opening slightly in reaction. _It's… his voice… Aoiko..._

The two Octoling minions glanced at each other, at their fallen leader, and finally at Supotca before releasing the captive and preparing an attack against their newfound enemy.

"It's an Inkling!" One of the Octolings shout, picking up the knife from her fallen leader after spotting the armed Inkling with Octoling goggles on.

"Avenge our leader! Charge!" The other Octoling minion announces, charging towards the attacker with her Octoshot, the Octarian version of the Tentatek Splattershot.

Supotca couldn't help but stare in horror as she saw the two Octolings begin to attack Aoiko, the Inkling that she knew all too well. It was an unfair two to one match.

Until she saw her blue inked Splat Charger.

A rapid fire shot of purple ink was launched from the Octoling soldier's Octoshot, only for the Inkling to counter with a tornado of blue ink, which almost hit the soldier dead-on.

"Ugh!" The soldier grunts, continuing her attack. She raised her weapon over her head looking for an attack similar to a frying pan whack. Aoiko blocked the melee attack using the barrel of his bazooka.

"Just so you know," Aoiko whispers, his arms holding the weapon block. "Rollers are for melee fights, not splattershots."

The Inkling threw the Octoling soldier backwards, tipping her off balance. She was then met with a whack in the head from his weapon, causing her to fall to the ground unconscious.

"That's one," The Inkling murmurs. "Now where's the other-"

The other Octoling minion that had picked up the knife previously now tackled the unsuspecting Aoiko, kicking his Inkzooka away from him and pinning him to the wall. The bazooka flew away from his hand to the ground several feet away, the large weapon reverting back to the original splattershot form.

"Heh heh heh," The knife wielding Octoling soldier laughs, resting the sharp side of the blade against Aoiko's neck. "I got you. You can't escape from me anymore, Inkling…"

The Inkling remained silent, not resisting against the Octoling.

"Any last words?"

"Well," Aoiko mumbles, staring at the Octoling. "You're pretty cute."

"Huh?" The Octoling questions, surprised.

"But… You're not as cute as another Octoling I know, sorry," The Inkling whispers, the blue eyes behind the Octoling goggles glanced up away from the Octoling soldier to where Supotca once was.

A sudden loud boom was emitted from behind the Octoling soldier before she dropped the knife, her body falling to the ground in front of Aoiko.

Supotca held her charger in aim, her hands now shakily holding the weapon after spotting the trail of blue ink. She dropped the weapon and lifted her hands to her face, tears threatening to flow out of her eyes.

Aoiko's hands removed the goggles from his eyes, now showing an expression of sadness and worry. He slowly strided towards her, being careful in his footsteps as if not to scare her.

The Inkling bent down to her level and offered her a hug. "Supotca…"

Supotca gratefully accepted the hug, hiding her eyes in his shoulder.

"You… You almost died…"

"Shh, Supotca. It'll all be okay. I promise."

* * *

 **Next time on Beneath Inkopolis... Aoiko learns more about Supotca's past after discovering her hometown. Stay tuned!**


	11. Chapter 11

**I, Snowy The Sky Wolf, do not own Splatoon, or any of its characters.**

* * *

Several hours after the attack of the Octoling soldiers, the two blue ink wielders were on the move again, their faces looking restless and tired.

Supotca had remained silent the whole time; she never said a word ever since Aoiko saved her from the Octolings that were looking for her tortured death.

"Supotca," Aoiko started. He halted in his footsteps.

The Octoling girl stopped her walk as well, but continued to stay quiet.

"Are you hungry? Would you like something to eat?"

A beat.

"I did manage to snag some of those rations after all."

Supotca forced a small smile from her lips. She knew that Aoiko was just trying to cheer her up, but much to her dismay, it failed to help.

"Let's take a break somewhere around here," Aoiko states, brushing away some debris from the ground.

"No," Supotca whispers, the first word she had uttered since.

"Hm?"

"I see something in the distance," The Octoling points to a rise in the path, which looked like buildings. "Can we... go check out that place before we rest?"

"Of course," The Inkling boy smiles.

Supotca nods, and continues her trek forward. She had denied the request for rest for two reasons; one of them being that she felt something eerily familiar about the place up ahead. The second reason was simply that she was not physically tired enough for rest.

As the two switched leading roles, Aoiko couldn't help making a comment. "I'm happy to see that you can still talk, Supotca. I almost thought they did something to you to make you mute."

The Octoling girl smiles again, this time with a genuine expression. "I'm happy enough that you came and saved me before that could happen."

…

"Erm… Supotca?"

"Yes?"

"May we rest now? My legs are starting to feel like jelly…"

Supotca nearly broke out laughing after imagining what Aoiko would look like with jelly legs. "S-sure."

Aoiko began to clear debris with his feet again, and offered a seat for Supotca before taking a seat himself. His hand reached into his bag and fished out two ration packs.

"Save it," Supotca declines the food offering when she saw that he had two rations. "I'm not really hungry anyways."

Aoiko stares at the Octoling for a second before dropping one of the rations back into the bag. "If you say so."

As Aoiko ripped open the plastic packaging of the food, Supotca observed her surroundings. It seemed to be another abandoned Octarian town; by now she had completely lost track of how many abandoned towns they had visited.

She shifted her foot slightly, causing a slight crunch from below. The Octoling glanced down at her feet, realizing that her foot was resting on a newspaper.

"A newspaper," Supotca says, picking the dusty paper up and shaking it.

"I haven't seen one of those in a long time," Aoiko says in between bites. "What does it say?"

"It's kind of difficult to read, it's obvious that the paper has gone through a lot…"

Supotca turned the paper around until it became a readable language. Out of the jumble of letters, she could only make out the main headline.

"'Several killed in factory explosion'..."

"Oh," Aoiko replies, not knowing how to respond further.

"My parents work in a factory," Supotca admits. "I remember them telling me how dangerous factories are."

"I would figure, with all the machinery and stuff."

"Mhm."

Aoiko continued to chew on his ration. _That's the first time I've heard her talk about her parents…_

Supotca flipped the paper over, where another readable headline could be seen. "There's one on this side too…"

"What is it?"

A beat.

"...Supotca?"

"I…" The Octoling hesitates, before shoving the paper towards Aoiko. "I don't want to read it."

The Inkling scrambled to catch the paper, reorganizing the orientation of the contents. "'Missing Octoling still not found'..."

"That Octoling is me," Supotca whispers. "I ran away from home."

Aoiko almost choked on the ration in shock. Even though he found Supotca in a train accident, he never realized the possibility of her being in the accident due to her running away from home.

"Because-"

"There's no need to explain it all, I think I can figure it out," Aoiko interrupts, not wanting her to remember her bad memories.

"Okay."

The two sat in silence.

"Aoiko?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you want to hear a story?"

Aoiko blinks. "If you'd like."

"When I was little, the scenery that you see right now used to be a pretty nice place. There was an ample amount of light, artificial light, I mean, and it used to well organized," Supotca explains, remembering her past as a child.

"I can imagine it…"

"Sometimes we even had special turf war events where the older Octarians battled with a chosen team for prizes."

"That sounds like a Splatfest," The Inkling says, recognizing the similarities. "In Inkopolis, we have scheduled events where the Inklings battle it out on a team as well."

"Then the power shortage happened," Supotca mumbles, immediately turning the story to a more depressing scene. "And it turned into this."

Aoiko fumbled with the plastic wrapping of his ration, once again caught not knowing how to reply.

"Aoiko," The Octoling whispers. "Tell me. What are turf war matches like?"

"Um," He hesitates. "Well, turf wars are very strategy based. You have to be nimble in order to avoid getting… splatted."

Supotca stared at him as he continued to explain his experiences.

"Splatting in a turf war match isn't like real life at all. The matches use special technology, it isn't violent, and it only slows the opponent down during the match. That's a good thing, because it wouldn't be safe for younger viewers if it was violent."

The Octoling chuckles to herself, amused by Aoiko's attempt to explain the splatting concept of turf war in comparison to their experiences in Octo Valley. "I guess that explains how I always hear other Octarians brag about how many splats they got."

The Inkling took the last bite of his ration and stood up, dusting off his pants. "Well, shall we go?"

"Alright."

"Ladies first," Aoiko says, offering the Octoling a chance to lead again.

Supotca laughs. "You're a really weird guy, Aoiko."

…

The duo was closing in on the outskirts of town. They had passed many houses along the way, some of them completely destroyed and others on the verge of falling.

"Old age and bad conditions really got this town, didn't it?" Aoiko comments.

"Mhm," Supotca agrees.

The range of houses up ahead were all destroyed into rubble piles. All except one, which still managed to stand after all of its companions fell. There was something different about this house, however…

"Are those… flowers?" Aoiko rubs his eyes, staring at the blooms of color in contrast to the black darkness.

Flowers of differing species were spread along the front of the house. Red roses, yellow lilies, and purple cosmos could be seen in a beautiful bloom.

"T-these flowers…" Supotca hesitates.

"This is amazing!" Aoiko exclaims. "It's amazing how these flowers are still in bloom even though there's very little light to help them survive! It has to be magic… Or maybe a special fertilizer..."

"T-these flowers… They belong to my mother," Supotca stumbles over her words.

"Huh?"

"She always sets the flowers in a certain way. This is that method… I recognize this pattern by heart…"

Suddenly, Supotca dashed up the front porch and burst in the front door.

"Supotca?! Where are you going?!"

"Mother?! Father?!" The Octoling shouts, seeking her parents. Her eyes quickly scanned the room in front of her. It looked the same as it did before she had left, with the exception of a folded letter and a statement notice.

"What… what is this…?"

"Supotca!" Aoiko calls for the Octoling, discovering her in the kitchen. Her hands were covering her mouth as her eyes attempted to hold back tears.

"Supotca, what's wrong?" The Inkling asks in a worried expression.

"This can't be happening…"

The speechless Octoling girl dashed away to another section of her former home, the tears now flowing freely down her face again, similar to the Octoling incident.

"Wait!" Aoiko took a step forward, but restrained himself from chasing after her. He had to find out what made her upset.

His eyes directed themselves to the two sheets of paper on the counter. He decided to investigate the folded paper first, his hand gently picking up the worn paper and reading out the contents.

 _"Dear mother and father."_

 _"I can't take it anymore."_

 _"Thank you for everything. I love you."_

 _"Hugs and kisses, Supotca."_

 _This letter was from Supotca to her parents… Before she ran away?_ Aoiko blinks, setting the paper down and taking a look at the other paper.

 _Notice of Non-Residence_

 _The following occupants of this home (three) have been involved in the following incidents..._

The Inkling continued to read the paper, his eyes scanning downwards.

 _...Missing, factory accident. Due to the lack of ownership to this home, this household is now under federal ownership._

"Factory… accident…" Aoiko recited the two words that shot like a bullet train through his brain.

Without another word, Aoiko sprinted through the house looking for the upset Octoling.

"Supotca!"

…

Supotca was sunk down on her former bed, her eyes bloodshot with tears. The contents of her room were the same as well; it seemed to be well maintained before it was abandoned.

Aoiko burst into the room unannounced, startling the Octoling. "Supotca!"

He ran over to her, pulling her into a hug. "It's alright, everything will be okay."

"No, it won't," Supotca sobs. "They're gone!"

"Shh," Aoiko whispers. "I'm here for you. Don't worry."

Supotca continued to confide in Aoiko, her emotions pouring out like a thunderstorm.

"Supotca," Aoiko began. "I... promise…"

 _I love you._

 _I love you, Supotca. With all my heart and my life, I promise..._

"To always… protect you."

* * *

 **Secret confession! Next time on Beneath Inkopolis... Our ink-quatic duo finally get some leads on reaching the surface of Octo Valley...**


	12. Chapter 12

**I, Snowy The Sky Wolf, do not own Splatoon, or any of its characters.**

* * *

The Zapfish is a creature held in high regard. It provides power and light to both the communities that utilize them - the Inklings and the Octarians - however, there is a limited supply to their population.

The Octarians, who have seized many of the Inklings' prized Zapfish, have a strange method of storing said generators; they store them on high altitudes. Perhaps this method allows for a more widespread power usage.

According to the most recent article in the Inkopolis Daily News, it is said that all the stolen Zapfish have been recovered except for one… The Great Zapfish. Officials and various spies say that the mythical Great Zapfish is being held captive in a secret and extremely dangerous location.

However, the location may not be as secret as it seems…

…

"I promise… to always protect you."

Supotca's sobbing decreased slightly as she processed his words. Her mind was only focused on the death of her parents at that very moment.

"...A-Aoiko-"

"We have to find a way out of here," Aoiko explains. "We couldn't have been going around in a circle this whole time. There has to be an exit."

The Octoling girl didn't reply.

"Let's go, Supotca."

"W-wait," The upset girl hesitates.

"Yeah?"

"D-do you mind… Helping me with something?"

…

Some time later, the two were now outside of Supotca's former home, with the Octoling sitting on the ground near the flower patch and Aoiko picking and arranging the plants into a bouquet. He set the bouquet in front of the door.

"Thank you…" Supotca whispers.

"It's the least that I can do," Aoiko states in a monotone voice. "Even though I've never met them, I'm sure that they were great people."

The Octoling nodded, rising from her spot near the flower patch and unsteadily walking away from her home, away from her past.

"L-let's go then."

Aoiko watched the Octoling walk away before stealing a glance towards the house, the bouquet of flowers sitting idly on the cold, stone step.

He knelt down by the flower patch and carefully picked a single red rose, one that he had left there intentionally.

Spinning the rose around in a spiral by the stem, Aoiko stared at the petals for a moment before tucking it in his bag and catching up with Supotca.

 _Thank you for taking care of her._

 _But now… It's my turn._

…

"Aoiko…"

No reply.

"Where are we going?"

"I'm trying to find somewhere that leads to higher ground, like a cliff or something," Aoiko explains, not making eye contact with the girl. "Since we're underground, it would make sense to go up."

Supotca silently nodded despite the fact that Aoiko didn't see her.

"Here," The Inkling announces, pointing towards a rise in the road and following that direction. It seemed almost like a curved stairway to the stars.

"Aoiko," Supotca began to say. "What's life on the surface like?"

"It's pretty cool," Aoiko replies. "The sun, and I mean the natural sun, comes up everyday and makes everything bright."

"Isn't your family worried about you?"

"I'm sure that they are, but considering how long we've been down here, they might think that I'm dead."

"But you're not."

"Yep," Aoiko turns to Supotca, smiling. "Looks like I'm not dead yet."

Supotca gave him a concerned look; Aoiko was acting strange. "You have a long time before death can get you, Aoiko."

"The same goes for you."

Supotca cut off the conversation from there. She disliked the topic of death; even though it was very common down in the Octarians' world, she still wasn't used to it.

"Stop," The Inkling held out an arm in front of the Octoling, stopping her in her tracks.

"What?"

"Look," The Inkling waves a hand in front of him, provoking her to glance in that direction.

In front of the path was a portal. It was similar to a portal from the Octarian army, but it seemed to be unguarded, had no protective door, and no control panel.

"A portal," Supotca whispers. "Where do you think it leads to?"

"Who knows. My prediction is that it only leads to one location, since there doesn't seem to be a control panel around here."

A beat. Aoiko turned his head to obtain eye contact with the Octoling.

"And that location may be higher ground."

Supotca hesitated. _Is he really that desperate to get out of here that he'll take the risk of a portal taking him elsewhere?_

Aoiko directed his attention back to the teleportation device. "Even though we don't know where this leads, it might be an adventure. But I'm not going until I get approval from you."

Supotca blinks. "Have you gone crazy, Aoiko? Like you said, who knows what might be on the other side. We might teleport ourselves right into the Octarians' main headquarters, where they'll imprison and kill us!"

"I take that as a no," Aoiko shakes his head, his voice somewhat shaky. "Let's turn back and find another road."

"I haven't said no yet, have I?"

The boy glanced at Supotca. His usually alert and upbeat eyes were now glazed over in a form of uncertainty.

"Despite of all the risks that we run by going through that portal, I'd be willing to deal with those risks."

 _Because I trust you._

Aoiko's expression lightened slightly, with a smile curving up on his lips. "Thank you, Supotca."

"You're welcome… I guess."

"On the count of three. Three, two…"

"Wait."

The Inkling paused his count. "Huh?"

Supotca shyly held out her hand to him. "This is a one time thing, okay?"

His smile grew brighter as he grasped her hand.

"Three…"

"Two…"

"One…"

"Jump!"

The duo dashed and launched themselves through the portal, disappearing to wherever the teleportation leads. Only one thought occupied Supotca's mind in those seconds of anticipation.

 _His hand is warm._

…

Supotca had clenched her eyes shut during the trip; she hadn't noticed her arrival to the new area until Aoiko had shaken her out of her trance.

"Supotca. We're here."

Her vision was met with the sight of pitch dark surrounding the entire area. Herself and Aoiko were standing on a platform that was mysteriously lit around the edges. The platform had a path that extended upwards.

"You might not want to look down."

Disobeying his recommendation, the Octoling instantly looked down past the platform. The bottom was unseeable.

"Ack," Supotca shivers, shying away from the ledge. "There's no railing…"

"Yeah," Aoiko agrees. "And it looks like the portal was one way, too."

She glanced behind herself to find thin air over the end of the platform. "You're kidding me."

"Looks like forward is our only option."

Supotca noticed that her hand was still bound to Aoiko's. Loosening her grip and releasing his hand, she took several steps forward.

"Let's go then."

Aoiko smiles. "Sounds good to me."

The path ahead, although shrouded in darkness, looked almost like it was a stairway to heaven.

…

"This is getting pretty steep…"

"That's a sign that we're getting closer to the surface. Be careful, Supotca."

Supotca and Aoiko continued to climb up the path, which had gotten slightly narrower and obtained an uphill incline.

 _The surface…_ Supotca directed her vision upwards, scanning the continually uprising road. _Aoiko is taking me to the surface. But, after we arrive to the surface, what will I do then?_

"Supotca?"

"H-huh?"

"Are you alright?" Aoiko asks in a concerned tone.

The girl focused back towards the ground. "Y-yeah, I'm fine."

A sudden loud roar echoed throughout the valley, along with the blow of a train whistle. The sudden noise almost made Supotca lose her footing.

"Don't fall," The Inkling warns.

"I'm trying not to!" Supotca shouts in irritation, regaining her footing on the platform.

"Looks like the path widens up ahead. Let's hurry and get there as soon as possible."

"Right behind you, Inkling."

"You're back to calling me Inkling?" Aoiko laughs.

"It's just a nickname! Besides, you are an Inkling, aren't you?!"

"I am," The boy says, agreeing with her statement. "It's just that sometimes I don't appreciate…"

Supotca's eyebrow rose in confusion as she stared at the Inkling. "Don't appreciate… what?"

Aoiko didn't answer.

"Aoiko?"

"Supotca, take a look at this."

She turned her attention away from Aoiko and quickly spotted a large machine that was similar in shape to a household light bulb.

"What… Is that?"

"I don't know," Aoiko replies, reaching out to touch the surface. He quickly retracted his hand upon receiving electrical shock. "Ouch. Don't touch that."

"It looks like there's something inside," Supotca says, slowly creeping closer to the protective shield. Inside of the sphere was a creature similar to a yellow catfish, with its whiskers connected to wires. "Isn't that a… Zapfish?"

"Yes, that's a Zapfish," The Inkling confirms, unsheathing his splattershot. "Should we break it out?"

"How is that even a question? Of course we should!"

"I mean," Aoiko starts to say, turning his head towards Supotca. "This Zapfish might be powering a lot of the Octarian land. They'll lose a ton of power."

"Who cares about the Octarian land?!" Supotca hisses, glaring at the Inkling. "I sure don't!"

"If you say so. Stand back."

The Octoling took a few steps back as Aoiko took aim at the sphere.

"Here goes nothing."

A small click resounded in Supotca's ears before she saw rapid fire of blue ink being projected at high speeds towards the bubble. Only a few shots were required before the bubble shattered, surprising both the Inkling and the Octoling. The lit edges of the platform faded away as the power from the Zapfish was lost.

A bright flash of light then burst out of the broken light bulb, the prisoner inside now revealing its true form.

"The Great… Zapfish?!" Aoiko whispers harshly upon sight of the discovered creature. Floating in front of the duo was a large serpentine figure, with long, spiral whiskers and strange eyes. The mythical beast stared at its rescuers, the gaze in its eyes unwavering.

" _That's_ the Great Zapfish?!" Supotca shouts, taking another step back out of surprise.

"Supotca-"

The ground beneath Supotca's foot began to crumble. It was a cracked, unstable portion of the platform's edge.

"Watch out!"

"Wha-" Supotca looked down towards her feet, but didn't have a fast enough reaction time. Her foot slipped off the ledge.

Gravity immediately took its course as the girl began to fall into the bottomless depths below, her screams consistently rising in pitch.

"Aoiko!"

The Inkling's blue eyes widened in shock as he helplessly watched her dive to her death.

" _Supotca!_ "

Out of complete impulse, Aoiko launched himself off the ledge, following the Octoling in her descend downward in an attempt to save her. One hand still held his splattershot by the handle.

In less than a second, the two were completely swallowed by the depths of darkness. The Great Zapfish flew itself in a spiral around the platform before descending down the path with them.

Their deaths were practically inevitable.

* * *

 **PLOT TWIST! What have I done... xD**

 **Next time on Beneath Inkopolis... Supotca and Aoiko both fall to their deaths in the darkness below! Did they survive?! Maybe they did... Or maybe they didn't... Stay tuned!**


	13. Chapter 13

**I, Snowy The Sky Wolf, do not own Splatoon, or any of its characters.**

* * *

The lone Octoling girl awoke to silence.

"I… I'm dead? Or am I alive?"

Supotca lifted her hands to rub her eyes, but stopped herself beforehand. She had noticed streaks of ink lining the back of her hands. Blue ink.

She gasps, frantically shaking her head around to gain a sense of her surroundings. Next to her body she found a weapon that she'd recognize even in its battered up state. Aoiko's Tentatek Splattershot.

Her eyes then followed a trail of dark blue ink from her location that led to another find. This find, however, was one that she did not want to discover in this condition. It was the unconscious body of a male Inkling.

"A-Aoiko!" Supotca scrambles to his side, her hand soon covering her mouth in discovery of what she had found. Much of Aoiko's body was covered in the same streaks of ink that Supotca had seen on her hand. His head was resting in a puddle of blue ink, with his head tentacles sprawled out in a frenzy due to a lack of a securing tie.

"Aoiko!" The Octoling shrieks, her hand clutching a fistful of his shirt. Tears rapidly formed in her eyes as they dripped onto the unconscious boy's clothing.

"Wake up, idiot! Don't you dare die on me! I should've been the one to die, _not you_!"

Her voice echoed in waves into the surrounding area, her sobs breaking the silence of being alone.

"I-" Supotca hiccups, her next sentence thundering out like a storm. "I love you, Aoiko! All the things you've done for me… No matter how much I try to forget it, I just can't!"

A beat. Her voice lowered into a whisper as she covered her tear-ridden face with her hands.

"So please… just… wake up…"

The Octoling's memories began to wander aimlessly as she remembered her experiences with the Inkling.

 _"My name's Aoiko."_

 _"Don't worry about it, Supotca. You can go back to sleep."_

 _"I don't know what I did to upset you. Regardless, I deeply apologize. Will you forgive me?"_

 _"Have you ever wished that you could be an Inkling?"_

 _"I guess I'm the superhero."_

 _"Shh, Supotca. It'll all be okay. I promise."_

 _"I promise… to always protect you."_

She soon felt the touch of a hand brush against her own.

"Supotca…"

The Octoling flinched at the sound of the voice, before slowly prying her hands off of her face to find Aoiko's fingertips barely grazing the skin of her hand. His now awake blue eyes gazed at her.

Aoiko smiled a sad smile. _You're still alive. That's all I wanted to see._

"Aoiko!" Supotca shouts, pulling the Inkling into a tight hug. "You're alive! Don't ever play dead to me again!"

"Oof," Aoiko coughs, his voice very soft and quiet in contrast to hers. "You were worried about me?"

"Of course I was, dummy!"

Aoiko smiles again, rising off of the ground to a sitting position. He winced upon stretching some muscles, but continued to stretch them anyways.

"Supotca..."

"What is it? You just woke up from death and you already have something to say?"

"Yes," Aoiko nods, then stays silent for a moment. "I… I heard you."

Supotca froze.

"And I just wanted you to know…"

A beat.

The gaze in his blue eyes transformed into a soft, loving expression, an expression that Supotca had never seen before.

"I love you too."

The Octoling stared at Aoiko with wide eyes. "W-what?! I didn't say anything! I-"

The Inkling took her hands in his own, efficiently cutting her off. "You can't lie to me. I heard you shout it to the sky."

 _T-that was an impulse! But I guess… That it's a true fact…_ Supotca blushes, turning her head away. "F-fine then. So now what?"

"Will you come and live in Inkopolis with me?"

That request took Supotca by surprise. "W-what, are you trying to propose to me or something?"

"Maybe so, maybe not," Aoiko smiles. "But first, let's get out of here."

The Octoling girl helped pull up the Inkling boy, where he winced at the increasing pain that came with it.

"Aoiko…"

"Don't worry, just give me a second," Aoiko brushes his pain off, effectively standing up straight. "Squids don't have bones."

"Neither do octopus," Supotca says blankly. "But that doesn't replace the excuse that you're hurt."

"I'm fine, Supotca. Really."

"Let's just go already…"

…

The two reunited ink-quatic creatures had found a mountain in the midst of the chaos. They had realized that they had fallen hundreds of feet down from the platform and landed near the base of a mountain.

They also could not figure out how they miraculously survived the fall without sustaining severe damage.

It almost seemed… mythical.

"Grab my hand," Aoiko announces, holding out his hand to Supotca. She accepted his request and he pulled her up, granting her a new view of what seems to be a sunrise over a large city. The view descending offered a sight of Inkopolis city outskirts. "We're almost there. Almost home."

Supotca was intrigued by the bright light. She had only seen it once back at the skatepark, but that sunset gave her bad memories.

"Over there, that city," The Inkling says. "That's Inkopolis. And the light is the sun. The real sun."

"It's beautiful," Supotca whispers.

"It is. I haven't seen it in forever."

"This almost feels like a dream," Supotca mumbles, her hand still clasped around Aoiko's. She then released his hand, surprising the Inkling.

"I can promise," Aoiko began, taking a few steps forward and directing her to follow. "That this is not a dream."

The Octoling sighs, a smile appearing on her face.

"I trust you."

…

"Will the other Inklings accept me?"

Aoiko glances towards Supotca after climbing down a rather large ledge, continuing their journey closer to the city of Inkopolis. "Of course they will."

"Are you sure?" Supotca asks, steadying herself on a chunk of scrap metal that looked strikingly similar to a destroyed Octarian UFO. The sun was now high in the sky, notifying the two that they had been walking through this light abundant world for several hours.

"Yes."

"It… It's just that…"

A beat.

"Inklings and Octarians don't have a good relationship…"

"Last time I checked, the Inklings have completely forgotten about the bad relations," Aoiko explains. "While it's mentioned once in awhile, in the news and at school, the Inkling civilization has pretty much forgotten about the effects of the Great Turf War."

Supotca remained silent.

"If it comes to the case where I'm wrong… I'll run away with you."

"What?" The Octoling snaps, a sudden glare towards the Inkling appearing on her face. "That's ridiculous, Aoiko, why would you want to do that-"

"Because I love you," Aoiko says, his voice keeping its calm.

"Besides that! Your family would go insane if they found out that you'd be disappearing again!"

"Think about it for a moment. While I understand that they would be upset at me leaving again, they had to suffer with the mindset that I'm dead. But I'm alive. I had survived whatever the world threw at me. And I'm sure they would understand if they knew that I would be with the person I love."

Supotca's expression softened. He had made a point. A really good point.

"You would do all that… For me."

The Inkling nodded, traveling ahead. "Yes."

Supotca sighs. "I can't counteract that statement…"

...

"Supotca, take a look at this," Aoiko calls, the Octoling responding to his call. He was standing right next to a swirling puddle of ink, the swirl in the form of a perfect circle on the ground.

"What is that?"

"This is a Super Jump portal. They're common in Inkopolis. I believe this is the one that takes us right into Inkopolis Plaza."

"This is it, huh," Supotca whispers, staring into the ink. She almost felt like she was being sucked in.

"This is the end of one chapter in our lives," Aoiko says, taking Supotca's hand again. "And the start of another."

"S-stop it with the cheesy lines," She blushes, causing him to laugh.

"Let's just let the future welcome us back into life."

Aoiko and Supotca both took a single step forward, launching themselves high into the air towards the heart of Inkopolis.

Supotca's heart couldn't help but race in anticipation.

* * *

 **Next time on Beneath Inkopolis... The epic finale! Aoiko and Supotca finally arrive in Inkopolis! Stay tuned!**


	14. Chapter 14

**I, Snowy The Sky Wolf, do not own Splatoon, or any of its characters.**

* * *

The Inkling's feet landed gracefully on the paved road of Inkopolis Plaza. The Octoling, with no experience of Super Jumping whatsoever, required assistance from the Inkling to land safely on the ground.

"Welcome to Inkopolis," Aoiko whispers, smiling.

Supotca was amazed at the sight before her; the buildings were crisply built and well decorated, towering over her form. None of the buildings had a single crack or deform in sight. The ground beneath her feet was not dusty, but rather clean as it was paved into cement for sidewalk. The most prominent figure that caught her eye was the large tower that rose up past the rest of the buildings, its design so complex that the Octoling got confused just looking at it.

"Inkopolis Tower," The Inkling began. "Before I left, on that day… I didn't remember the Great Zapfish being there…"

"Huh?"

The girl took another look at the large tower, now spotting the serpentine catfish wrapped around the complex building. It seemed to be staring directly at the two with an intense glare.

Supotca swore she almost saw it wink at her as well.

"Hey… Doesn't that guy look familiar?" A different Inkling whispers to another one next to him.

"Yeah," The other Inkling, this time a female, agrees. "He kind of looks like that missing Inkling from a year ago..."

A loud gasp sounded from behind the two whispering Inklings, causing them to look towards the source of the noise.

"It's Aoiko!"

An uproar of confusion erupted throughout the plaza, the area increasing in volume.

"The missing Inkling Aoiko is here!"

"He's back!"

"Call the defense force!"

"Well," Aoiko laughs, looking down towards Supotca. "Looks like I'm more famous than I thought."

Supotca simply gave him a blank stare.

"What's all the commotion about?" An older female Inkling with dark head tentacles asks, walking out onto the balcony of the second floor of the plaza.

"They're shouting something about a boy named Aoiko being back," Another feminine voice announces, this time one with short white head tentacles. She held a small poster in her hand.

"Aoiko? That boy that went missing a year ago? He suddenly came back?"

"Take a look at the person that everyone is surrounding, Callie," The second older Inkling says, directing her attention to the Inkling boy. "And now take a look at this poster."

"Let me see that, Marie," Callie snatches the paper out of Marie's hands, staring at the picture displayed on the paper. "Yeah, it looks exactly like him!"

"I think it's time to broadcast a breaking Squid Sisters newscast," Marie exclaims, briskly walking back inside the room that she came from.

"You seem very calm about this, Marie! A missing boy just appeared out of nowhere!"

"Mom, there's something going on outside!" A young Inkling girl calls her mother from the window of inside a shop.

"What is it, sweetie?" The mother of the young girl asks, walking over to her daughter to view the scene of the Inkling boy and a strange girl being surrounded by younger Inklings.

"That boy looks just like big brother!"

The adult Inkling took a long look at the returned Inkling boy, before gasping and calling out for her husband. "Honey! Look! I think... I think Aoiko came back!"

"Aoiko?!" The father roars.

The crowd of excited Inklings continued to get closer to Aoiko and Supotca, their faces showing signs of a mixture of joy and confusion. Aoiko reached his arm out to shield Supotca behind him, effectively repelling the Inklings.

"What is going on here?" Supotca harshly whispers.

"Aoiko!" A voice boomed through the plaza, catching the Inkling boy and the rest of the plaza by surprise. Aoiko saw three figures running towards him.

"Mother! Father! Little sister!" Aoiko calls out, recognizing the figures by heart.

The female adult Inkling dispersed the younger Inklings and ran up to Aoiko, enclosing him in a tight hug. "You're home… You're finally home…"

"Mother…"

"Big brother is home! Big brother is home!" Aoiko's little sister cheers.

Supotca felt her heart sink. Seeing Aoiko reuniting with his parents only reminded her of her own. But she smiled.

 _I'm happy to see Aoiko with his parents like this…_

Being separated from Aoiko, Supotca was suddenly surrounded by many young Inkling girls, their eyes filled with curiosity.

"Are you an Octoling?" One of them asks.

"Y-yes," Supotca hesitates. "Yes I am."

"That's so cool!" Another shouts, jumping into the air. "I've never seen an Octoling before!"

"I love your hair! It's so fresh!" A girl squeals.

"T-thank you," The Octoling blushes, not used to being complimented. _They… accept me!_

An electronic billboard on the side of one of the buildings suddenly flashed, playing some music along with it. This action silenced everyone, as if they were anticipating what was going to occur next.

A logo appeared on the screen, announcing the arrival of breaking Squid Sisters news. Two female Inklings appeared on the screen.

"Hold on to your tentacles..." Callie greets, waving at the camera.

"It's Inkopolis News time! We have some breaking news to share!" Marie announces. "News travels fast! The Inkling that disappeared approximately one year ago has returned! This is a shocking turn of events!"

"We can all figure out how he came back later. For now, let's celebrate!"

"That's it for the breaking Squid Sisters news!"

The two girls then did a pose, ending the broadcast. "Stay fresh!"

Supotca suddenly felt her hand being grasped by someone, her attention returning back down to ground level from the screen.

Aoiko pulled the Octoling girl away from the crowd of Inkling girls, bringing her to his side again. "Supotca…"

He pulls out the red rose he had been storing in his bag from the flower garden and tucks it behind her ear. Brushing a blue octopus head tentacle out of her eyes, Aoiko presses a kiss onto her lips, completely taking the Octoling by surprise. A round of applause and cheering was heard from the crowd.

The Inkling boy broke the kiss and stared at stunned Supotca, her eyes wide with surprise. A bright smile appeared on Aoiko's face.

"Welcome home."

And so, on this day... One certain Octoling learned that there was more to this world... Than just beneath the surface of Inkopolis.

…

Fifteen years have passed since the return of Aoiko and the arrival of the newcomer Supotca.

"Kids, come on, it's almost time for school!" Aoiko calls out, rounding up his two children to his side. One was a pretty Inkling girl with violet eyes and the other was a handsome Octoling boy with blue eyes.

"Dad, can I ask you a question?" The Inkling girl requests. Her brother quickly nods, apparently knowing exactly what she was going to ask.

"Sure, what is it?"

"What were Mom's parents like?"

"Yeah," The Octoling boy says, extending on her question. "You've always told us about your parents, but you never told us about grandma and grandpa on Mom's side."

Aoiko hesitates. This was a strange question to hear out of his children.

Supotca, who overheard the difficult to answer question, hid herself behind a wall to listen to what Aoiko might have to say about her late parents.

"Well," Aoiko began. "Your mother's parents were very sweet. I've never known them personally, but I know that they took care of your mother very well."

Feeling her heart warm up, Supotca couldn't help but smile.

The sound of several vehicle honks echoed into the house, alerting Aoiko that the school bus was here.

"The school bus is here, it's time for school."

"Aw, man," The Octoling boy sighs. "I wanted to hear more of that story!"

"Me too," The Inkling girl agrees with him.

"How about we make a deal," Aoiko says, dropping down to his children's eye level. "How about you do good in school, and when you come home, I'll tell you the rest of the story?"

"Yeah!" The two shout, their moods lighting up again.

"Then a deal is a deal. Have fun at school, kids."

"Bye dad!" The duo says simultaneously, racing each other out the door towards the school bus.

"I'm going to beat you!" The Inkling girl shouts to her brother.

"No you won't!"

Supotca laughs, catching Aoiko's attention. She snuck around the corner to meet with her husband. "What are you going to tell them about my parents?"

"I'll come up with something," Aoiko chuckles, suddenly feeling nervous. "I have a few hours to do so."

Supotca sighs, watching as the school bus drove away.

"They're going to be great in turf war someday, I know it."

"Speaking of turf war," The Octoling says, crossing her arms over her chest. "We're probably too old to play turf war now, huh?"

Aoiko glanced at Supotca for a moment before running briskly to a different part of their home.

"Where are you going?" Supotca calls in confusion.

He soon returned with a turf war weapon in his hand. This weapon, however, was one Supotca recognized instantly.

Aoiko grabbed both of Supotca's hands, placing her special Splat Charger into her possession. The smile that Supotca always knew and loved was displayed on his face.

"Nobody is ever too old for turf war."

 _ **Beneath Inkopolis - The End**_

* * *

 **Wait, wait! Don't leave yet! Next time, on Beneath Inkopolis... The bonus chapter! Stay tuned!**

 **...**

 **Hello everyone, and welcome to the behind the storyboards edition for _Beneath Inkopolis_! This section is similar to a behind the scenes special in a film, where I, the author, will cover various topics regarding the inspiration and storyline of this FanFiction.**

 **First of all, I would like to thank everyone who has read to the end and supported the story throughout its chapters. I'm happy to see that people take the time to read and enjoy my writing when there are thousands more out there. Without further ado, let's get started.**

 **While the storyline for Beneath Inkopolis is partially inspired by the single player campaign of Splatoon (as seen by Aoiko, the pseudo "Agent 3"), the whole idea and basis of the story was heavily inspired by the (spoiler alert?) "creepy sounds" easter egg. The rumblings and occasional shrieks in the easter egg is reminiscent to the train wreck in Chapter 1-2, and is mentioned again with Supotca's fall in Chapter 12. Perhaps take another listen and imagine the two scenes in your head, and you might just hear it.**

 **For many of the main areas that Aoiko and Supotca traverse through in the story events, they are based off of various Splatoon multiplayer maps. In order, the areas are Urchin Underpass (old version), Port Mackerel, Blackbelly Skatepark, the Final Boss arena, and the tutorial area.**

 **The name "Aoiko" is composed of the Japanese words "Ao", meaning blue, and "Ika", meaning squid, which makes sense since he is an Inkling that wields blue ink. "Supotca", on the other hand, is just Octopus backwards. How very uncreative of me. xD**

 **Aoiko and Supotca's weapons, which are the Tentatek Splattershot and the Splat Charger respectively, actually show up in Splatoon's splash screen (the startup loading screen) as a Splattershot and a Splatterscope together. This coincidence surprised me as I had chosen their weapons long before I noticed the similarity.**

 **Again, thank you all for the support and I hope you enjoyed! Happy reading!**


	15. Bonus Chapter

**Here we are, the bonus chapter! This event takes place some time after the ending and before the epilogue. I hope you enjoy. :)**

 **I, Snowy The Sky Wolf, do not own Splatoon, or any of its characters.**

* * *

 ** _Bonus Chapter - How Aoiko Proposed to Supotca_**

It was a normal morning for the city of Inkopolis. The city highlights were just starting to pick back up into speed from the quietness of the night, and residents were starting their morning commutes.

The Inkling Aoiko, age twenty three, had recently gotten a job at the video game development company Ancho-V Games.

The Octoling Supotca, just one year younger than him, has a job working at Inkopolis Tower as an associate for turf war pre-match preparation. She found the job to be quite fun since she got to watch all the turf war battles, and it had pretty good pay.

They both lived alone in separate apartments at Flounder Heights, but frequently visited each other ever since they had started dating four years ago.

However, on this special day, Aoiko was determined to change that.

Why was it so special?

Today was the day that he would ask for Supotca's hand in marriage.

The alarm clock rang out the familiar, yet annoying tune, awakening the Inkling from his slumber.

"Ugh," Aoiko mumbles, his arm reaching out to shut the machine off. Even though he had a day off from work today, he had forced himself to set an alarm so he could have ample time to prepare his surprise.

Picking up his squid phone from off the nightstand and unlocking the screen, he was met with his screensaver, which caused him to smile. It was a picture of himself and Supotca the day that they first returned to Inkopolis, the red rose that he had put behind her ear shining noticeably in contrast to her dark blue head tentacles.

"It's really been four years since that day, huh?"

…

About a half hour has passed since Aoiko first woke up. By this time he had changed into a simple dress shirt and pants, as well as finished preparing everything that he needed for the day.

After placing two slices of bread into his kitchen toaster and turning it on, he reached for his squid phone once again, this time to call a certain Octoling.

"Hello?" A feminine voice answers.

"Good morning, Supotca," Aoiko greets, taking a seat at his kitchen table and holding his squid phone on speaker in his right hand.

"Aoiko? Good morning, I guess?"

The Inkling chuckles. "I didn't accidentally wake you up, did I?"

"No, I was already up when you called," Supotca explains. "What's up?"

"Just saying good morning."

"You never call me just to say good morning."

"I know," Aoiko replies, his other hand tracing a wood grain on the table. "I guess today is just a special exception."

"...Okay," The Octoling says carefully, confused by his words.

"Anyways, Supotca, do you have work today?"

"Yes. I get off sometime by late afternoon. Why?"

"Well," The Inkling trails off, attempting to put together what he was going to say without giving away the whole surprise. "Can you meet me somewhere today? After you get off from work, I mean."

"Where?"

"Ammo Knights."

"Ammo Knights?" Supotca questions. "Why Ammo Knights?"

"Just trust me," Aoiko says.

"...Alright then. I got to go to work now, catch you later?"

"Catch you later. Have a good day, Supotca."

"You too."

Aoiko then heard her end the call, her voice disappearing along with it. He pulled up his checklist for this special day, reviewing it over. At the top of the list was the words "Jelly Fresh", indicating that he had to go there first.

The toaster suddenly clicked as it popped out the two slices of toast that he had put in previously, the noise startling the Inkling and causing him to drop his phone on the table.

Aoiko sheepishly laughs to himself, putting his head in his hands.

"I'm going to be on edge all day today…"

…

Booyah Base, at the clothing store Jelly Fresh.

The well-dressed Inkling entered the shop, scanning the room for the owner.

"Jelonzo?"

"Bluuh!" The blue jellyfish appeared from behind a shirt rack. "Aoiko! You very fresh!"

"Thank you," Aoiko smiles.

"You order here," Jelonzo says, stretching out a tentacle to grab a small bag from behind the cash register counter and handing it to Aoiko. "You like?"

Aoiko reached into the bag and pulled out a small box. Upon opening the box, he saw a glittering ring, the gem carat shining a luminescent shade of blue. The silver band showed an engraving of a squid and an octopus on opposite sides of the gem, representing Aoiko and Supotca respectively.

"It's perfect," The Inkling whispers, amazed by the fine detail.

Although Jelly Fresh was mainly a clothing store, Jelonzo also ran a jewelry store of the same name, one that is special to the jellyfish species. It seems that jellyfish are skilled in the art of jewelry making.

"Payment already done! Thanks for the buying!" Jelonzo thanks the Inkling, referring to how Aoiko already paid for the ring in full when he first ordered it.

"Thank you again, Jelonzo," Aoiko waves to the jellyfish owner as he headed towards the exit.

"You make Octoling happy!"

As Aoiko left the store and headed to his next destination, Ammo Knights, he tucked the ring box in his pocket to make sure that he didn't lose it.

The ring had taken a pretty big chunk of money out of his cash balance, after all.

…

The swiffing noise of a broom could be heard as Sheldon, the owner of Ammo Knights, dusted the floor of his shop. He heaved a sigh, disappointed by the number of customers that came in today.

His hearing caught on the the jingle of his front door opening, causing him to snap his head towards the front to see who the customer was.

"Hey, Sheldon," Aoiko greets the horseshoe crab as he walked through the storefront.

"Oh, hi…"

"Is there something wrong?"

The horseshoe crab flinches, noticing his attitude towards the Inkling. "I'm sorry, there just haven't been that many customers today so it's gotten me down."

A beat.

"You're here to use the testing area, correct?"

"Yes," The Inkling nods. "And actually, I'll probably need a weapon too. I've been meaning to try out a new weapon strategy, and I left my splattershot at home…"

The store owner's eyes brightened, excited that he finally may get a purchase today.

"What weapon are you in the market for?"

…

Aoiko sat on one of the grates in the testing area, holding a Custom E-liter 3K in aim at a test dummy. He heard an increasingly long wind-up noise before he released the trigger, the pressurized blue ink popping the balloon.

"This kind of charger is one level above Supotca's splat charger," Aoiko says to no one in particular. "Sometimes I wonder how she keeps her aim steady…"

He glanced at his squid phone, which was connected wirelessly to the map of Ammo Knights' testing area. The long trail of blue could be seen on the upper section of the map.

"I might as well get started," Aoiko mumbles, jumping down from the ledge with his charger. "Supotca will probably get out of work soon."

…

"Game!"

From one of the spectator rooms, a certain Octoling watched as the last game of her shift was completed, spotting one of the Inklings get teleported back to the spawn point on the television screen.

The battle was between turquoise and pink. Judd performed his signature dance, pointing his tail and his flag towards the turquoise team, causing an eruption of cheers.

Supotca stood up from her seat and stretched, tired after a hard day's work. Having to run and rush to get all the the participants ready for battle in such a short time is more difficult than one would think.

Strolling down to the break room to retrieve her belongings, the Octoling thought about all the past battles that she has previously seen, comparing them to what Aoiko's life must have been like before he disappeared from Inkopolis into Octo Valley.

 _Now that I think about it…_

 _I probably wouldn't have ever met Aoiko if he didn't get stranded in the Octarian lair…_

Shaking her head of the rather upsetting thought, her hand reached out to undo the lock on her work locker and pull it open, revealing her personal bag.

As she grasped the strap of her bag, she noticed the small magnetic mirror that she had attached to the door the first day that she began working at Inkopolis Tower. Supotca's reflection appeared in the glass, and she stared at her violet irises before glancing up to her blue octopus head tentacles.

Having experienced a few turf wars herself, Supotca had seen her hair color change numerous times, including to a color that was similar to the Octarians' signature purple. However, she couldn't help but adore the blue hue that had quickly become her signature color.

"Oh, that's right," Supotca mumbles. "Aoiko wanted me to meet him at Ammo Knights today… And I still haven't figured out why..."

…

After an increasingly short walk from Inkopolis Tower to Ammo Knights, Supotca entered the weapon shop, the door automatically shutting behind her.

"Hello, hello!" Sheldon greets. "What weapon are you in the market for?"

"Actually-"

"Oh, wait, you're Aoiko's girlfriend, aren't you? He told me that you'd be arriving at some point."

Supotca raised an eyebrow, confused. Things seemed to be getting more strange by the second. "He did?"

"Yes," The horseshoe crab explains. "He-"

The sound of a muffled boom was emitted from the direction of the weapon store's testing area, followed by a series of short charges that sounded similar to a Bamboozler 14 MK charger.

"As a matter of fact," Sheldon says again. "That just happens to be him."

"Huh…?" Supotca murmurs, finding herself completely dumbstruck by the storekeeper's words.

"Aoiko has been in the testing area testing out his new Custom E-Liter 3K for several hours. I most certainly and absolutely do not know why he has been testing the weapon for so long…"

Supotca couldn't help but stare at the poor horseshoe crab in silence, her conscious starting to believe that Sheldon was trying to hide something.

"A-anyways," Sheldon gulps. "Do you want me to take you to him?"

"Sure, I guess…"

"Good! Follow me, please."

The weapon expert soon headed for the back door, with Supotca following suit. She was still trying to piece together why Aoiko would spend his day off in Ammo Knights' testing arena for hours on end.

Upon entering, the Octoling was met with blue ink scattered all over the ground, the ink seemingly arranged in a special format. The Inkling himself was standing on one of the metal grates high above the ground with a large silver weapon in his hand, his gaze very concentrated as he stared down at the sea of blue below him.

Spotting the horseshoe crab and the person that he had been waiting for the whole day, Aoiko smiled, jumping down from the grate to greet Sheldon and Supotca.

"Good afternoon," Aoiko greets, his voice sounded slightly tired.

"You look exhausted," Supotca whispers, immediately noticing the Inkling's lack of energy.

"Haha, do I? I guess there isn't much I can do about that."

"What's with all this ink? Sheldon said you were in here for several hours…"

"There's a reason for the ink and all the time spent," Aoiko explains, before pulling out his squid phone from his pocket. "Supotca, I need you to do something for me."

"What is it?" The Octoling trails off, continuing to get confused by Aoiko's actions.

The Inkling dropped off his new weapon near the wall before walking up next to Supotca, the hand with his phone reaching out to her as a gesture for her to take it.

"I'd like for you to hold my phone for a split second…"

A beat.

"And I want you to read what's on the screen."

Supotca slowly took the phone, holding the screen sideways. "Alright…"

The squid phone showed an image of the testing arena live at that very moment, with the upper portion of the map housing a large, blue inked heart. The lower portion of the map, which was where the two were currently standing, displayed a two worded question.

 _Marry me?_

The Octoling flinches before turning to stare at the Inkling with wide eyes, her mind trying to comprehend what she had just read. Before she knew it, he was knelt down on the ground with a ring box in his hands, a shy smile appearing on his face.

"Supotca… Will you marry me?"

Supotca stood in silence in front of the kneeling Inkling, completely speechless. She only managed to whisper a single word in response.

"...Y-yes."

A bright smile replaced his shy one as he stood up, slipping the ring onto her hand. Embracing her in a hug, he breathed a sigh of relief. It really did take a lot of work to get his proposal perfect.

"I love you."

The Octoling could only smile as she embraced the Inkling.

"I love you too, Aoiko."

* * *

 **A proposal, Splatoon style! I hope that you enjoyed this two thousand word special xD This marks the official end for** ** _Beneath Inkopolis_! If you liked this fanfiction and would like to stay up to date with my writing, feel free to add me to your author follow list. Stay fresh!**


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